Solace's Wings
by BecomingFearless1F
Summary: Her father missing, her mother insane and abusive, Emily Salgado has only one place left to go: the Avengers. With a mutant ability that makes her the most dangerous person alive, Emily has to believe that with the help of the Avengers, she can protect herself from her enemies, and more importantly, herself.
1. Chapter 1

_**Prologue**_

Everyone wants to be a superhero. From a young age, the internet and Hollywood have implanted it into children's minds that being a superhero would be cool. Kick butt, look awesome, and win all the fame and glory.

Ellen Wong once said, "What does it mean to be a superhero? We're all fighting for the better good. But, at the same time, I think what stands out is, as superheroes, you don't give up; you don't surrender. I think that's what makes a superhero."

How do I feel about all of this? I would count every single grain of sand in the Sahara desert and the Pacific Ocean if it meant that I would never have to deal with my abilities again, look over my shoulder every time I go to bed to make sure I don't get jumped, or get seizures whenever I see another person use their talents.

My name is Emily Salgado. I'm eighteen years old and a senior at Buffalo Valley High School. I currently work as a waiter at a nearby Sherri's with my best friend Lizzy. She's probably the only normal person who knows about my…condition. That's the simple way of summarizing my life.

Sure, I didn't mention the fact that I grew hazel-golden wings at the age of twelve after my father went missing, or that I became a X-Men member at age fourteen and fought with them until sixteen, when I had to leave in fear of being turned over to Magneto, the X-Men's worse enemy.

Wait…perhaps I'm going to fast…Let's slow it down. Let's start when I first meet my future boyfriend and nearly die in the process.

 _ **Chapter 1**_

 _March 12, 2015_

 _By Carrie O'Neill_

 _It has been announced that the diabolical HYDRA assassin known as The Winter Soldier has been released from federal custody to the custody of the recently broken up federal agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D., with the promises from ex-director Nicolas Fury, and Avenger members, Captain America and Falcon, that he has switched from his killing ways and is now in the Avengers: Initiate program designed for those with special abilities who want to be able to do more. "He's just a man who went through my experience," says the Captain when asked about the Winter Soldier. "He's done some pretty nasty things, I know, but he's trying to get through it and change himself. And I know for a fact that I'm willing to give him that chance."_

"I swear, if you are reading that article about the Winter Soldier again, I will scream," my mother commented, rounding the corner. I quickly shoved the newspaper article behind my back and tried to put on my best fake grin.

"What article?" I asked, batting my eyelashes like I had no clue what she was talking about.

She rolled her eyes at me and said, "Hurry up and get ready. You have school and then the restaurant." I groaned, but nodded, standing up to start grabbing my things. Mom was in the kitchen, fixing up something when she slammed one of the cabinet doors, causing me to jump up in fear.

In a flash, hazel brown and golden wings appeared at my sides. My eyes flashed around in concern. I pulled myself together and concentrated on them becoming transparent again. In a snap, they disappeared as fast as when they appeared. I sighed with relief and headed to my bedroom. Once inside, I grabbed my backpack and work uniform. As I exited our home, my phone buzzed. I snatched it up and checked my messages. It was from Lizzy, my best friend.

 **LIZTHEAMAZINGNESS:**

 _Hey Em! WARNING: Huge debate going on about TWS._

I sighed. That was the way my school worked. Either you agreed with the media and what they said about the Winter Soldier, or you were a 'revolutionary who thought that Magneto and Baron Zemo should run the world', or at least that was the way our principal, Mr. Prior, had said it.

 **EMILY/HOURGLASS:**

 _How am I not surprised?_

 **LIZTHEAMAZINGNESS:**

 _Seriously tho, we are surrounded by idiots with no life._

I snorted at what she wrote, shaking my head. Lizzy could be the most inspirational person in the world. I once witnessed her convince the entire school board to switch the prom's theme colors from black and white to pink in order to support breast cancer. Of course, not only did it give her an excuse to fundraise for breast cancer victims, but it also let her wear pink to the prom.

However, Lizzy was very opinionated. If people didn't agree with what she thought, she'd let them know right away.

The bus ride was dull, as usual, and so was school. Don't get me wrong; I love school. I loved reviewing things in classes. Learning was a bit more difficult, due to…reasons. After school, I sat down on the curb, waiting anxiously for Lizzy to arrive. I heard a shout behind me and I turned. A smile formed on my face.

A short, redheaded girl was dodging and weaving between a bunch of freshmen, trying hard to get caught up to me.

"You still living?" asked Lizzy, panting when she reached me. She quickly shoved her red, frizzy hair into a sloppy bun and pushed her square, crimson glasses up on her nose.

"From what I can see, yes," I teased back, taking a deep breath. "That went a lot smoother than I thought."

"High school always suck, no matter if you're a superhero or just a freshman trying to get by," Lizzy said wisely. "Let's head over to the restaurant and you can fill me in on the details, kay?"

I nodded. Lizzy was a year younger than me (I was a senior) but she acted like my older sister at times. We took a seat in her little green Subaru and she turned the car on, pulling out of the parking lot. "So what exactly are you doing? I mean, you explained this to me yesterday but I'm still confused as heck."

"The Avengers: Initiate program has new slots available," I explained. "Considering my last line of work was not a waiter but a superhero, I figured I might be able to get back in again."

I couldn't help myself but go through a mental run through of my life four years ago. My mom had received a call from a mysterious man named Charles Xavier who ran a school for gifted students up in London. My mom, wanting me to receive the best education I could get, accepted it without really looking into it. The next thing I knew, I was an X-Men and training alongside Wolverine, Beast, Nightcrawler, and Angel.

Two years though, I had to get out. People, more specifically Magneto, had wanted to us my powers to help him gain control over other mutants. I said no and he has been hunting me ever since. I basically dropped off the grid my junior year and haven't been bothered by the X-Men or Magneto since.

"You are crazy, Emily," sighed Lizzy as she stopped at a red light, jerking me out of my daydream. "Remember last time you said you were ready to get back in again?"

"Yes, I know," I groaned, shaking my head. "I nearly blew up Buffalo Valley. But for the record, I got distracted!" Lizzy shrugged and gave me a face, which sent me laughing. "Anyways, I think I might have a chance."

"You definitely have a chance," confirmed Lizzy, gently squeezing my knee. "I mean, you've already have past experience, and plus," she added when she stopped at a red light. She glanced around, making sure no one was near us, before leaning over to me and saying, "you have fricking wings and the ability to adapt to other powers. Who wouldn't want that on their team?" I laughed and she cracked a grin, hurriedly speeding across the four-way stop when someone honked at her.

We got to the restaurant on time and I quickly changed into my uniform. The day progressed like usual. Halfway through the day, though, two men and a woman entered the restaurant. Usually, this was a normal thing: one guy and the girl are on a date and the other dude is stuck as a third wheel. But it wasn't like that between them. There was a distinct line of respect between the men and the woman, like they wouldn't mess with her on a bad day.

It was inspiring.

I told all my coworkers that I claimed their table and walked over as chirper as I could.

"Welcome to Sharris!" I cheered. "Is there any drinks you'd like to start off with?" While they all silently contemplated their drink ideas, I observed what they looked like. One man was super built, six pack abs, the whole deal. He had short cut blond hair and warm brown eyes. The other man was darker skin with close crop black hair and a hilarious attitude. The woman had short red hair that was all straightened. Dark eyes with an athletic build; I was betting she had been some sort of dancer or athlete when she was younger.

"I think water all around will be fine," said the blond haired man. I smiled and wrote down their orders.

"If you guys don't mind," I added real quick. "I do this normally with all my customers, to get to know them. Mind if I get your guys' names too?" The blond laughed.

"I'm Steve," he said. He nodded to the darker guy and then the girl. "These are Sam and Natasha."

"And who might you be?" asked Sam, glancing at me up and down.

"The names are off-limits and Emily," I said, smiling. Natasha got a grin on her face and Steve muttered something like, "I like her." I laughed and said, "Be back with your drinks in one moment." As I exited to grab their drinks, a shiver sent down my spine. I froze. Shivers were a small part of my mutant ability. It alerted me when something wasn't exactly right with the situation I was in. I made a quick scan of the restaurant. A man sat on a barstool in a corner, fiddling with his straw wrapper every few seconds. I handed the order off to Kelley, another girl who worked at Sharris with Lizzy and I, and headed over to see what was going on.

"Hello," I said tentatively, causing him to jump. He flipped around and got a hard look in his eyes. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Leave me alone!" he screeched, and I took a few steps back. All conversations ceased in the restaurant and all eyes turned toward us. "Don't talk to me or touch me!"

"I-I'm sorry, sir," I stammered, backing up. Another blood-curling scream.

The manager of the restaurant, a blond woman by the name of Arlene, walked up and said, "Sir, I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

"Leave yourself!" spat the man and he snapped his fingers. A painful shiver hit me and I turned away at the last second, wincing as the sound of thunder echoed through the restaurant. When I turned back, Arlene was gone, and in her stead was a pile of ashes.

 _Oh crud,_ I thought as chaos broke loose in the restaurant. _Another one mutant._ Customers began to push each other, trying to get out of the way of the mutant. The man made a move to tackle me, but I grabbed him, flipping him around and shoving him to the ground. I landed on top of him and struggled to keep him down.

"Stop this!" I ordered, and the man began violently shaking as my fingers began to dig into his skin. "This isn't you! You need to focus on here and now. Don't let your powers consume you!" The man screamed and ripped his wrist away from me. In a weak attempt he threw a punch. It connected with my jaw, not enough to hurt or break it, but enough to send me sprawling off of him. I stood up and glanced around at the screaming people. They were all busy on exiting.

The man and I circled each other for a few moments. He let out another scream and made a way to punch me again. In one quick flap of my invisible wings, I was out of the way and the man hit the wall with such force it left a dent. I lashed out with my foot and it connected with his skull, sending him sprawling onto the floor. I knelt by him, my hand hovering over his head. His life aura was still fine. Again, another handy adaptation I had acquired throughout the years.

 _He's alive,_ I breathed with relief. By now, everyone in the restaurant was gone, including the table who I had yet to give drinks to. I headed over to Lizzy, who was waiting patiently for me at the door of the restaurant.

"Cops are coming," she warned. I nodded and we left, entering her little car and driving off to my house. "Ok, want to fill me in on WHAT THE HECK JUST HAPPENED?"

"Another rogue mutant," I explained carefully. "Not one of Professor X's. I'm thinking a lackey of Magneto who didn't get enough quality time so bailed. Has the ability to kill people by turning them into ashes."

"Well, that means that Arlene is gone," sighed Lizzy sadly. We stared out of the windows in a moment of silence for our boss. Lizzy dropped me off at my house and warned me to be careful in case Magneto started sniffing around again.

"Are you alright?" my mother questioned as soon as I walked through the door. I nodded and gave her the face of 'what happened?'. "I just got a report that a Sharris in Buffalo Valley got attacked by some mutant. Some employee stopped them but no one got a good look at who it was."

"It wasn't ours," I lied smoothly. "I mean, we had a guy who looked like David Hasselhoff, but that was as weird as it got." My mother nodded, believing my story. She always did. It was a trick I had learned from my dad before he had disappeared. Always act innocent and then you'll always be innocent.

My mom took a deep breath and said, "Emily…we need to talk." She ushered me over to the couches and the muscles in my back tightened. _What was she talking about?_ "I've seen the applications."

 _OH CRUD, CRUD, CRUD!_ my mind mentally screamed at me.

"I just wanted to say," she began. "I'm so proud of you!"

"Huh?" I asked.

"For applying for a finishing school," said my mother. She disappeared into the kitchen for a second before reappearing with an application in her hands. At first glance, the packet _did_ look like a finishing school application. _She's must've not looked inside yet,_ I sighed with relief. "I know you haven't been overly fond of New York since your father's disappearance, but I think this finishing school will be very helpful for you."

"So I have permission to leave for New York?" I asked. She nodded and I squealed with delight. "I'm going to be heading out tonight." My mom nodded in complete understanding and I grinned a thousand mile long grin. I gave her a big hug and rushed off to my room. Once inside, I shut my door and locked it. I then released my hold on my wings, and they came into view. "We're going to New York!" They fluttered happily and I quickly went to work packing any essentials I might need. I paused when I got to my bed.

I sat down heavily and reached out, my fingers grasping onto a little Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. It had been a birthday present from my father when I was five. I brought it close to my chest and gently placed it inside of my carry-on. I also folded my quilt which I had also gotten from my father on my twelfth birthday that was also dear to me. Once those were zipped up, I got onto my phone and texted Lizzy.

 **EMILY/HOURGLASS:**

 _OMGosh Lizzy…u will not believe what just hap._

 **LIZTHEAMAZINGNESS:**

 _Spillllllll…_

 **EMILY/HOURGLASS:**

 _I just got permission 2 go 2 NY._

 **LIZTHEAMAZINGNESS:**

 _*cue dramatic spit out water* EXCUSE MOI?_

 **EMILY/HOURGLASS:**

 _Lol. Exactly what I thought. She thinks finishing school. Doesn't know its Aven._

 **LIZTHEAMAZINGNESS:**

 _Whoops. Big mess up 4 her. :p when do u leave?_

 **EMILY/HOURGLASS:**

 _2nite._

 **LIZTHEAMAZINGNESS:**

 _TEXT ME EVERY NIGHT, K?_

 **EMILY/HOURGLASS:**

 _Every nite chica. :p LOVE YA! C U ON THE OTHER SIDE!_

 **LIZTHEAMAZINGNESS:**

 _LOVE YA CHICA! FIND UR DESTINY!_

I giggled at the last part and flexed my wings. I glanced at the time. It read 7:50pm.

Perfect time. I grabbed my stuff and opened the doors to my in-room balcony. Once outside on the balcony, I scanned around to make sure no one was there. I clambered onto the railing and took a deep breath.

This part always freaked me out, no matter how many times I did it. I unfurled my wings and fell off. They quickly caught the wind and I swooped up, squealing as I did so. Now was the fun part. I checked my print-out sheets of Google Maps that I had placed inside the application folder and started heading south-east, towards New York City.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter 2**_

Ever get side-tracked?

Yeah, that happened to me.

I got into New York City at midnight. I knew I should've found a motel or something to rest up at, but an all-night little coffee shop was calling my name. I landed in an alleyway just next to it, shielded my wings, and headed over.

"Welcome to NYCA," the man at the counter said when I entered, grinning. He had close-cropped blond hair with sparkling green eyes. "What can I get for you?" I paused to think.

"Could I have an almond hot chocolate with chocolate whipped cream?" The man raised an eyebrow and asked, "Preference or allergy?"

"Preference," I said. "My dad used to order that drink too many times to count." He laughed and asked, "Name?"

"Just use Salgado," I said, nodding. He nodded back and scribbled the name down on a cup before being cheery to the person behind me. I took a seat at one of the tables and surveyed the coffee shop. Everyone looked normal, but one man looked too tense. He sat on the edge of his seat, like he was waiting for someone to call him out. A shiver hit me, but it was unlike one I had ever gotten before. This wasn't a shiver to predict mutant abilities or when something was off. It felt…nice.

The man up front called out my name and sat my drink down on the counter. I got up, retrieved my drink and walked over to the guy who was tense.

"Hey," I said quietly, and the man's head flung up.

Whoa.

He wasn't that bad looking. He had ear-length dark brown hair with brown eyes that I could just drown in. I gulped and continued, "Is anyone sitting here?" He shook his head and I took a seat across from him. Things were quiet for a second, and it was only when I took a sip of my drink that he spoke.

"Why an almond hot chocolate?" he asked suddenly, tilting his head. A full on Brooklyn accent hit me. "A dame like yourself doesn't look like she needs to lose the weight…" I blushed at being called a dame. No one really complimented me back at Buffalo Valley. It was usually just Lizzy and my dad before he disappeared.

"My father's favorite drink," I answered smoothly. I mentally high-fived myself for not acting like an idiot in front of him. "We used to come to New York City for holidays, and when my mom wasn't looking, my dad and I would try to visit all the coffee shops in the city, ordering the same thing: almond hot chocolate with chocolate whipped cream. We got up to twelve coffee shops before one, I was sick of hot chocolate overdose, and two, my mom figured out and stopped his credit card." The man smiled and glanced around the coffee shop.

"I was here when they built this shop," he commented, his eyes full of remembrance. "Biggest thing that happened in the neighborhood at the time." He sighed and shook his head. "How New York has changed."

I nodded and said, "My name's Emily." I held a hand out over the table and the man grabbed it, giving it one firm shake.

"The name's James," he said, nodding in return. "You can call me Bucky."

"Nickname?" I teased, and he nodded again. We smiled and talked for a while before we both finished our drinks.

"Well, I better get going," I yawned, grabbing my bag. I stood up wearily and Bucky followed suit. "I'm hopefully going to get a new job that fits my…attributes, and I want to make sure I can get there in time before registration closes."

Bucky nodded and ran his fingers through his hair awkwardly, before he whispered, "I could take you to your job, if you'd like." I nodded and smiled.

"Always nice to have a friendly face in the crowd of people," I told him. "Especially when it's midnight." He chuckled at my joke and my chest filled with warmth. We left NYCA (I gave them a good tip) and we slipped outside and walked along the road. Bucky seemed really cool. He was a total gentleman around me, and he didn't seem to know a ton about most movies and such, so I gladly filled him in on everything he apparently missed out on. As we chatted, we crossed one of the main intersections. I laughed at something he said and turned to tell him another corny joke (literally) when my a terrible shiver ran down my spine. My eyes flipped over to where the large metal truck was heading straight for an unsuspecting Bucky.

 **:/:\:**

[Bucky's POV]

Had to say, Emily was like no one I had ever met before. We laughed at almost anything we said.

It was…different.

We crossed one of the major intersections and I followed behind her skipping self. It wasn't until I heard a loud honk that my senses went crazy. I turned to see what it was and my eyes widen with disbelief. A large semi-truck was heading straight towards me, lights and horn ablaze. The man behind the wheel seemed intoxicated, and was unable to get out of the way. No time to move. I braced myself for the collision, but something rammed into me from the side, causing me to tumble away. I skidded painfully on the road, hitting my head on a rogue piece of asphalt. I groggily pushed myself onto my elbows, trying to see who had pushed me out of the way. A broken form lay in front of the truck. I pushed myself onto my knees to get a better view of them.

Beautiful blond-brown hair with silvery blue eyes, a kind smile not turned to pain.

It was Emily.

I dove over to her and carefully brushed her hair out of her face. She was so broken. She had a long cut on her forehead, and her wrist was twisted at a weird angle. The drunk, fat man tumbled out of the truck and started spewing curse words at us for stopping his delivery. In return, I glared at him and he instantly backed off.

I grabbed my phone and in the voice activated part, I yelled, "Call Steve!" The computers worked and put me on.

"Hello?" a warm, familiar voice asked. "This is Steve Rogers."

"Bucky," I answered simply, brushing Emily's hair away from her forehead.

"What do you need, when, where, and why?"

"I need the medical team a few blocks away from the NYCA café. Civilian was hit by a semi-truck protecting me, broken wrist, cut on forehead which might cause a concussion, and Steve, I need them here now!"

 **:/:\:**

[Steve's POV]

I ended my phone call with Bucky and Clint asked wearily from where he laid half-asleep on the couch, "First off, why the heck are you talking to any idiot at midnight and second off, what does Bucky need?"

I rolled my eyes and said, "Where's Banner?"

"He went with Stark to some fancy-smancy convention in Cleveland, I believe," Clint yawned, rubbing his eyes. He sat up and asked, "What, do you want me to call him?"

"I need a med team, now," I answered simply and Clint leapt up, going to give Dr. Cho a call. "Tell Hill to get the Quinjet ready for take-off. We're going to be landing a block or two north of NYCA café."

 **A/N:**

 **Wow! I may be overreacting with this, but thank you (Peter Pan-Once Upon A Time) for reviewing it so fast! I didn't expect it to start happening :). Hope you all enjoy this chapter and more will be coming soon!**

 **-BecomingFearless1F**


	3. Chapter 3

_**Chapter 3**_

[Emily's POV]

 _I smiled widely at the man who sat before me. He wore a well-pressed dark suit, with a black masquerade mask to match. I stood up, brushing down my white and black feathered and sequined dress, and yawned._

 _"Don't fall asleep on me yet, Em," teased the man and I gave him a look._

 _"I'm not," I answered, yawning again. "It's not my fault we were placed on a stake-out at a masquerade ball where we aren't allowed to do…" All of a sudden, chatter started popping up on the radio clipped to my partner's belt. We both dove for it and he pressed the button. We listened in._

 _"If you get this, then Sanchez is on the move," the voice whispered urgently. "Sanchez is on the move." I sighed with relief and began to unzip the back of my dress, revealing my hidden Avengers suit underneath. My partner took off his fancy outwear for a suit that matched mine._

 _"Thank goodness," I groaned. "If I had to watch someone walk by with another plate of Snickers and Doritos, I would've flipped." I glanced at my partner and whispered, "Thanks for taking me here, Mr. Winter Soldier." My partner laughed, rolled his eyes, and responded smoothly, "It was a pleasure, Ms. Solace."_

 **:/:\:**

I woke up with a start, instantly struggling. I had to save Bucky…where was Bucky…in fact, where was I? Someone had two strong hands on my shoulders and I blinked through the spots in my eyes, trying to see who the man was holding me down.

"Deep breaths," a man ordered, and I followed, inhaling pure oxygen. I spluttered with coughs for a little, my hand coming up to politely cough into it. I jerked a bit when the man placed a hand on my shoulder and back to help lay me back down. As my vision began to clear up, I saw a clean-shaven face with blond hair all nicely combed. Warm brown eyes with a smile that would've made girls fan-girl desperately. "Are you ok?"

I opened my mouth to speak, but my wrist and back twitched with pain. My eyes flung open wide as I realized my back didn't hurt…it was my wings. I sat up fast (probably too fast) and yanked the oxygen cord off my face and ignored the pleas from the doctor girl and the man as they tried to rest me back down. My eyes skimmed briefly over the casted-figure of my wrist and I reached back, patting on my invisible wings. Both hurt desperately, and I cringed as I heard an unsatisfying crunch of my two shoulder bones. The doctor grabbed a tablet and waved it behind my back and frowned.

"Congratulations," she sneered angrily. "You had two fractures in your shoulder bones, now clean cuts!" She glanced at the man with rage and yelled, "I swear Steve, if it wasn't for the favor I owe you, I would've chucked her out of the tower hours ago." I winced at her comment (and the fact I had just broken more bones) and glanced at the man. Some old memory was starting to come back to me. "And, on top of everything, she's suffering from amnesia due to the crash!"

 _Crash,_ I thought weakly. _I was in a car accident…a small car?…no, it was a semi. Bucky…where was Bucky?_ I thought that was strange. I couldn't remember my name, any of my history, but his name stuck out perfectly in my head. I glanced at the man and gently rested myself down just for him. He gave me a thankful smile and said, "So, Ms. Salgado…"

"Can you give me my full name?" I asked. He raised an eyebrow, but nodded.

"Emily Miriyan Salgado," he tried again. "Do you remember anything that happened to you in the previous twenty-four hours?"

"Bucky," I whispered, glancing around fearfully. "Where's Bucky? I…I don't know what I did, but I'm really worried about him." The two people exchanged confused looks and I said, "He was with me at the crash scene. I…"

The man with blond hair laughed and said, "He's doing fine, Emily. He's actually waiting to see you, but we needed Doctor Cho to confirm that you are steady enough to have visitors." The doctor waved her hand dismissively and left the room. I scanned my surroundings to get a better grip. I was on a table with a dentist looking office around me. This one wasn't like the kiddy kinds. It was like a surgeon doubling as a dentist. I was dressed in a red blouse with my ripped skinny jeans and those boots I stole from my mother. I pushed myself up on my elbows just a familiar man entered the room. _Bucky._ He rushed to my side and placed a gentle hand on my forehead. It was extremely cold to the touch.

"Are you alright?" he asked, as the other man said, "Buck…she's suffering from amnesia. She might not remember who you are…"

"Bucky," I breathed. I sat up farther and winced as my shoulder bones rubbed. "Are you alright?" The man started laughing and pushed his dark brown hair out of his face.

"Am I alright? Emily…you got hit by a semi-truck for me. In reality, you should be dead!" he laughed.

"I'm a superhero," I teased. Inside, I silently prayed a thank you to Sabretooth, an X-Men mutant who had the ability to heal. During an attack on the X-Mansion, I had seen him do it and gained his power.

Bucky offered me his gloved hands and I gently took them. He helped me off of the table and I breathed a thank you. I turned to the man who had helped me. "Thank you…I never got your name."

"My name is Steve," he said, nodding. Inside, the wheels in my mind began turning. I smiled and nodded my thanks.

"Do any of you know where my phone is?" I asked. "I'd like to call one of my friends and tell her what happened." Steve nodded and handed over my smashed IPhone. I sighed and Steve offered me his phone, which I took. The two men exited the room to give me space.

I sat on top of the table again and dialed Lizzy's number (I'm surprised I remembered that much).

Her phone rang twice before it answered, "I swear, Marco, if you're calling about that stupid science project again…"

"It's me, Lizzy," I teased, and she paused before laughing.

"Whose phone are you using?"

"That doesn't matter," I sighed, shaking my head. "Lizzy…something bad happened on the way to New York."

"Oh my gosh, what happened? Are you ok?"

"I sort-of got hit…"

"What?"

"…by a semi…"

"WHAT? Are you alright?"

"I think I sprained my wrist, broke both my shoulders…" I bit down on my lip and I silently cried, "I broke my wing shoulders…"

"Oh my gosh Em!" sighed Lizzy. "How did it happen?"

"I was on my way from this coffee shop with this guy…"

"Name."

"Bucky."

"Oh," she cooed. "That sounds kind-of cute." I rolled my eyes and continued my tale.

"We crossed this street and my shivers were sky-rocketing. I looked over and saw Bucky about to get hit by the semi. Me, being my idiotic self, pushed him out of the way and I got hit..."

"Have you had doctors look at you?" asked Lizzy frantically.

"Yes, of course!" I told her, rolling my eyes. "I'm not exactly sure where I am…but it's in New York…maybe a hospital or something."

"You could say or something," replied a voice. I glanced over and saw a tall, dark browned haired man, dressed all up in a black and dark blue business suit. "Am I interrupting something?"

"No," I sighed, shaking my head. To Lizzy, I added, "I'll get a new phone and try and call you tonight." With that, I hung up on Steve's phone. "Now, may I ask who you are?"

"Billionaire playboy, owner of this tower," said the man, shrugging. "Just the normal stuff. And you, Emily Miriyan Salgado, are currently under my protection since you are here." He stuck out a hand. "Tony Stark." I stifled a gasp. Tony Stark, as in Iron Man Tony Stark? I kept my cool and shook his hand and said, "You apparently already know my name." Tony cracked a grin and said, "Are the doctors all finished up with you?"

"I know that my presence even being here already ticked one of them off."

"That would be the lovely Ms. Cho," said Tony, shaking his head. "She wanted to use the Cradle on you, except whenever we carried you to it, you started convulsing, so we thought it would be safer to operate here." I nodded my head in agreement. _That would be because of my wings_ , I thought mentally. "So, I take it you know Steve and Boy Wonder?" I tilted my head confused. "Come on, evil Russian assassin?" I chuckled a little. "I'm talking about Bucky." A silent Oh formed on my lips and I nodded a little.

"I met Steve here and Bucky at a coffee shop here," I explained. I gently heaved myself off the table and landed a little awkwardly on my feet. I stumbled a little bit (Tony offered no support) before I was able to balance myself. "Where am I?"

"Home," suggested Tony.

"This isn't my home," I said. "This is much too…"

"Strict?"

"Loose," I corrected. "For my home. What exactly is 'home'?" Tony placed a hand on my lower back and led me out of the room. I just stood in awe as we descended a few steps and gazed out of a glass window at the floor below, where Avengers were strolling around.

"Home is the Avengers Tower."


	4. Chapter 4

_**Chapter 4**_

[Emily's POV]

"Wait…" I said, pausing Tony from his grand old speech. "How on Earth did I come here?"

"Bucky called me," said another voice. I turned around and saw the friendly face of Steve. "It's good to see you again."

"We just talked to each other five minutes ago," I said, confused.

"Think farther back," he prompted. I thought farther back, but somehow Sharris stuck in my mind.

"No way," I gasped. "You were at Sharris!"

"So was Nat and Sam," said Steve, nodding to the redhead and African American who were playing pool. "Some people also know us as…"

"Captain America, Black Widow, and Falcon," I said, nodding. "Trust me. I know my Avengers…which may sound stalker-ish." Steve laughed and surprisingly, so did Tony. "Is Bucky…" Steve shook his head.

"Bucky is a part of our newer program, Avengers: Initiate," said Steve. He nodded to me. "And I suppose that you were coming to join." I nodded shyly. "Any past experience?"

I nodded and said, "For a while, I was a part of another team, you could say…" I shuffled my feet a bit. Talking about my past experiences always troubled me.

Steve nodded and asked, "Any powers?" I bit my lip and nodded, shuffling my feet a bit. "Care to demonstrate?"

"Could you shut the blinds or something?" I asked nervously. "I don't show many people my powers…it makes me…uncomfortable." Steve nodded rapidly and Tony asked some person named Jarvis to shut the curtains. As soon as I was certain no other member of the Avengers could see me, I released the hold on my wings.

Their bright golden and hazelnut brown feathers emerged, flapping excitingly because they didn't have to hide anymore. The facial expressions on Tony and Steve were priceless. Steve was wide eyed and mouth agape, while Tony kept murmuring something about robots.

"This is my… _main_ power."

"You have wings," said Steve, stuttering a bit. "Ok, did not expect that."

"That's why the Cradle didn't accept me," I explained, glancing over at Tony. "I _literally_ couldn't fit."

"I'll make a note of this," said Tony, heading over to his computer.

"No!" I shouted, and his hand suddenly stopped. _Crud!_ I mentally cursed. _Jean's powers!_ I gently brought his body around and he demanded, "Why can't I feel my arms and legs?"

"It's a part of my other powers," I explained cautiously. "I have the ability to adapt."

"What does telekinesis have to do with adapting?" asked Steve, raising an eyebrow.

"I originally never had telekinesis," I answered, and I let Tony go. "My second _main_ power. If I see any mutant or superhero do a power, then I'll gain it. Forever."

"Really?" questioned Tony. I nodded in confirmation. "But going back a little...why won't you let me make a note of your wings."

"No one must know that I have wings," I said, my voice low and serious. "Final." Tony nodded and as the blinds went up, my wings disappeared again.

"Did the whole disappearing act with your wings involve another power you adapted?" asked Steve, genuine interest in his eyes.

"No," I explained, laughing a little. "The invisibility for my wings came with them." Steve nodded and I followed him out of the door and down to where the rest of the team was.

Natasha and Sam welcomed me over with open arms and invited Steve and I to join them in pool. I was on a team with Steve while Sam and Natasha were against us. It turns out, Steve is actually a decent pool player, but I stunk. I had the last shot, and if I could get the eight ball in, we would win. If not, Sam and Natasha were sure of getting it to win. Just as I hit the ball, I knew it wasn't going to go in. My telekinesis activated and I bounced the ball around the table before sinking it in, all the while making sure it looked as normal as possible. Sam grumbled and pretended to hit his head on the table while Natasha scolded him for being a bad player. Steve caught my eye and raised an eyebrow. I brought my finger to my lips in a 'shush' manner, and he smiled, chuckling a bit to himself.

As I handed the pole to Natasha, my shoulders clicked and pain flared throughout my back. My knees felt weak and I stumbled onto them, clutching to the pool table as support.

"Emily?" asked Steve, rushing to my side. I groaned slightly as he felt around on my back. "Your shoulders are out of place. You might hate me, but I have to put them back in order to make the pain stop." I nodded as Sam and Natasha walked over. Steve popped my shoulders and I let out a short scream. Tears began to pool out of my eyes as the pain in my shoulders dulled into an unsatisfied ache. Steve swept me up into his arms and we headed back towards the hospital-like room. Once inside, he gently set me down on the table, and I flipped around, so my wings were not compressed. I released my hold and my dirty brown wings appeared. I groaned and shoved my face into the warm pillow that had appeared randomly on my bed. "Emily…would you like some pain medicine?"

I nodded and whispered, "I'm allergic to ibuprofen." Steve nodded and walked out of the room, muttering something to himself. I sighed and rubbed my face farther into the pillow.

A gentle hand rested on the back of my head and Steve whispered, "I'm back." I sat up weakly and he held out four pills to me. "Advil and Tylenol." I grasped the water cup he held, threw the pills in my mouth, and gulped them all down. I felt a tingly sensation run down my throat, and I shivered slightly.

"Thank you," I told him, wiping away any late tears that decided to join up with their buddies from earlier. "I never knew I could be in so much pain."

"Well, that's one of the causalities of being an Avenger," joked Steve, running his fingers through his hair. A more serious look passed over his eyes. "However, due to your…predicament, you won't be able to do the same training as the other trainees." Steve whipped out a notepad and a pen from one of the counters and quickly scribbled something on it. "I know two trainers…well, two train _ees_ , who'd be willing to help you in your rehabilitation."

"Would they need to know about my wings?" I questioned Steve. He took an uneasy step backwards and shook his head.

"It's not absolutely necessary, but coming from me, I would highly recommend it, since that's where most of the damage is," he responded. "If it's alright with you, Dr. Cho, when she wasn't upset with you, crafted these shoulder braces, specifically designed for your wings. Seems she knew about them before we all did." He hoisted up two black brace-looking things, each with clips and Velcro. He gestured to me and I twisted around painfully. He started to attach each one, and I winced, groaned, moaned, and even shed a few tears as he tightened them. When he was done, the medicine had started to kick in and now it was back to a dull ache.

However, my wings were stuck in an awkward position, which meant my shoulders were in an awkward position, which made me in an awkward position. "There. All good?" I nodded shakily and pushed myself off of the table. Steve held up his hands in front of me, blocking any attempts of leaving the room. "Just where do you think you're going?"

"I thought I would go say hello. Is that so bad?" I questioned/lied. Truth was I wanted to find another payphone and talk with Lizzy. Privately. Steve shook his head.

"Your wings are far too delicate at the moment for any sudden movements," Steve informed me. He handed me the notepad with the slip he had scribbled up. He then nodded at me, patted the spot next to me, before walking out of the room without looking back. I raised an eyebrow and glanced at the spot where he had patted. There was a phone. On it was a sticky note that read:

' _It records all conversations. Thought you wanted it to call Lizzy. Have fun_

 _Steve_ _'_

I smiled to myself and quickly dialed Lizzy's number.

 **:/:\:**

After I finished my call with Lizzy, there was a gentle knock on my door.

"Come in."

In entered Bucky. His dark brown hair was wet from water, and he wore a muscle shirt with a pair of sweatpants.

"Hey," I said, a small smile coming to my lips.

"Hey," he responded back. "Good chat?" I nodded. Lizzy and I had discussed everything that had happened, and she thought it was for the best that I stayed where I was. They obviously had better equipment. "Ok, so Steve sent me here to take you to your new room. That cool?" I nodded and he held his hand out to me. I grabbed it and he helped me off my bed. My shoulders ached a little bit more than usually, but I simply rolled them and followed Bucky out. He let go of my hand once we walked through Tony's science lab, where the billionaire and someone else were tinkering with a gizmo.

"Hey Russian soldier," called out Tony, without even glancing up from his project. Bucky halted and I could see him tense up. "You don't want to introduce the doctor to your friend?" Bucky took a deep breath, shook out his arms, and gestured towards the other man by Tony, the one with frizzy brown hair and glasses.

"Emily, that's Doctor Banner. He's one of the world's leading scientists in gamma radiation," Bucky announced. "Banner, this is Emily, one of the new trainees." Banner nodded a hello without looking up either and we exited the room, heading down a hallway towards an elevator.

"From what I can tell, you and Tony don't get along well?" I asked tentatively. Bucky nodded.

"He's always trying to remind me of my past, which doesn't help me work ahead towards the future," Bucky explained. I nodded and rubbed my wrists, which was a nervous habit of mine. Bucky pressed a button and the next second, it dinged, revealing two figures. Both were females and had dark hair. One had a black, Gothic type dress on with high black boots and a scarlet jacket. The other wore a professional dress and had her dark hair in a bun.

"Emily, this is Maria Hill, former vice-CEO of SHIELD with Nick Fury and now Tony's secretary, and this is Wanda Maximoff, one of our newest Avengers." Maria nodded a hello to me, but Wanda caught my gaze and we stood there, gazing/glaring at each other.

 _ **I know who you are, small one,**_ a voice whispered inside my head. A shiver ran down my spine. _**Don't try to block it.**_ I used all my mental training I had learned from Professor X and built up the strongest defense system around my brain. I saw a small droplet of sweat fall from Wanda's brow before she broke our staring contest and the mental connection instantly vanished. Shakily, I entered the elevator with a confused Bucky in tow.

"Um…mind telling me what that was about?" he asked me, glancing over to where I was standing. I shook my head. _Sometime Bucky…but not now_. Bucky clicked one of the buttons and we started heading up or down…I was too dizzy to figure out. Whatever Wanda did, she left me totally vulnerable. Bucky could probably breathe on me and I would fall over. "They used to play music in these, you know?" I glanced at him, my eyes wide with skepticism.

"Excuse me?" I breathed, gripping onto the railing tightly. My wings were starting to get a little bit more painful, and the fresh soapy smell of the elevator was causing me to feel faint.

"Music," explained Bucky. "Like some sort of tune that would get stuck in your head for the rest of the week. Made elevator trips less boring." I nodded and I tried taking a deep breath.

Worse decision ever.

The smells just rushed to my head and I felt my hands let go of the railing before I fell onto the elevator floor, too dizzy and frail to move. I think the elevator doors opened, and I heard a far-off voice calling for help while a closer one whispered, "Stay with me." Just as I blacked out, I caught a glimpse of someone in the corner of the hallway, all the way in the shadows. He had styled black hair and piercing green eyes.

 _Daddy…_ I thought blankly before I passed out.

 **:/:\:**

[Steve's POV]

"So, Doctor, mind telling me why she fainted?" I asked as I signed something for Maria.

"That remains unclear," Doctor Cho informed me. She brushed down her white uniform and began to story. "According to Sergeant Barnes, he and Emily were heading down to her room. Something in the elevator triggered an allergic reaction, we believe, and then she fell down. Afterwards, she fainted. That's all we know." I nodded, and Bucky walked into Stark's lab, where we were currently. I raised an eyebrow. Bucky hated coming in here. When he did, it was usually important. I waved Doctor Cho and her assistants away and headed over to where Bucky stood anxiously at the doorway.

"Hey pal," I said, coming over and leaning against the doorframe. "What's wrong?"

"I'm worried about Emily," Bucky confessed. He glanced around nervously and then faced me. "She isn't like anyone I've met before." I nodded. Bucky had met a lot of people back when he was the Winter Soldier, a dangerous KGB assassin for Russia. He ran his metal hand through his hair. "Do you think she'll be ok?" I nodded and patted him on the shoulder.

"That girl has been through heck and back," I told him. Bucky raised an eyebrow and I motioned for him to follow me. We walked deeper into Stark's lab and I yelled out, "Tony!" There was a loud _CLUMP_ and the billionaire's head poked through behind the mess on a table.

"You called?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. His eyes scanned over me, and then finally rested on Bucky. "Ahhh…so Mr. Soldier decided to join you today."

"I need the folder on Emily's background," I reported, and Tony grumbled something about being a maid before one of his robots grabbed the folder and handed it off to me. I grabbed it thankfully and held out the folder towards Bucky.

"What's this?" he asked, grabbing it.

"Homework," I answered. "See you in a few." And with that, I walked out of the lab to go check-in with Emily.

 **:/:\:**

[Emily's POV]

"Let me go!" I shrieked, wiggling around. More arms clamped onto my legs and arms, trying to pin me to the table. Doctor Cho growled a curse word and sat on top of my abdomen, holding out a needle. "Get off of me!" I tried wiggling as hard as I could, but as I shifted, my wings flared up with pain and I cried. I was too dizzy and numb with pain to use my telekinesis, and even if I did, they would never let me go out of the hospital again. A door opened and I cried as more footsteps approached me.

"What the heck is happening here!" a voice demanded and everyone froze, except me. I raised my leg and slammed it into the nose of one of the medical staff. He stumbled backwards, cursing me and fell into another guard. For the other guy, I did the same, except I aimed lower and got him in the neck. Doctor Cho suddenly popped back into reality, but it was too late. I brought my legs up, wrapped them around her torso, and flung her backwards and off the table. I ripped my arm out of one of the guard's hands, and Steve walked over, punching the other guy in the stomach. As soon as I was free from my captors, I leapt off the table and coward behind Steve. "What the heck is going on?"

"We are trying to run tests on that… _vermin_!" yelled Doctor Cho, helping one of her people to his feet. "When all of a sudden, she started flipping out and started resisting."

"You are a liar!" I screamed, my fists close to my chest.

"Enough!" yelled Steve, and we all quieted down. "Doctor Cho, I will personally be having a chat with you and your assistants later. Right now, Emily is going to be accompanying me to her room."

"She's just going to faint like…!" yelled Cho, but Steve grabbed my arm and was leading me out of the hospital before she could finish. I rubbed my wrists as we walked.

"I'm sorry," I whispered after a long moment of silence. "I didn't mean to react like that…but she was scaring me, and then she got more people…" I shivered. "I had a panic attack from PTSD." Steve nodded, and brought me close in a side hug.

"We all have our own demons we face," he said, and we reached the elevator. He pressed a button, and instead of going down, we started going up.

"I thought that the dorms were in the lower levels…" I began, but Steve held up a finger to his lips.

"We're not going to those dorms," he explained. The doors opened to reveal a long hallway. We walked down until we reached the third door on the left. Steve leaned forward, twisted the knob, and pushed the door open. I gasped when I saw the interior. We were in an amazing look suite, with fancy beds and a kitchen and…it was too amazing to describe. There was humming going on, and someone emerged from the bathroom with fresh clothes and wet hair.

It was Wanda Maximoff.

"Steve," she said in a crisp Sokovian accent. Her eyes landed on mine. "Emily."

"Wanda," Steve answered back. He placed a gentle hand on my shoulder. "For some odd reason, Emily is unable to reach her dorms downstairs. So, until we can discover a reason and combat it, I am requesting that she stays with you." _WHAT?!_ "It won't be that long. Only until Doctor Cho and her team can figure out what's wrong." Wanda nodded, and motioned for Steve to leave the room. As soon as he was gone, Wanda completely ignored me and went off to dry her hair. I stood awkwardly in the room, glancing at the couch and the floor.

 _Where should I sit?_

 _ **Anywhere you would like, small one**_. I nearly freaked out. Now that I had heard Wanda, I knew that this was her voice in my head.

 _How the heck are you doing that?_

 _ **One of my many powers. I can read minds and enter them if I so wish.**_

 _Mind getting out of mine?_

 _ **Only if you will have a civil conversation with me**_. I huffed and took a seat on a long couch, sitting near the front so I would crush my wings. Wanda exited the bathroom, which freshly brushed hair, and took a seat beside me.

"So, small one," Wanda commented, a little gleam in her eyes. "Are you going to willingly show me your gift, or am I going to have to try and explain it myself?"

 _She already knows. Crud._ I sighed, and stood up. My wings emerged from my back, and she stared silently at them.

"You do not have a father?" commented Wanda, raising an eyebrow. I gripped my fists. I did NOT like that she was going through my memories. "And your mother…"

"We will not speak of my mother," I growled, taking a deep breath. "Are we clear?" Wanda nodded and I sighed, rubbing down my clothes. "I'm sorry…she is just a part of my life that I don't ever want to talk about."

"We all have those memories," Wanda replied, taking a seat by me. "Would you prefer the couch or the bed to sleep on tonight?" I raised an eyebrow at her.

"What makes you think I want to sleep here tonight?" I spat back. "First, you cause me to faint, second, you enter my mind without my permission, third, you searched through my memories!" Wanda's hands flexed by her side and I smirked. "Is that how you want to play, huh?" I closed my eyes and my mind reached out for hers, and our war of power began.

 **:/:\:**

[Bucky's POV]

I knocked hesitantly on Wanda's and Emily's door, and glanced around. There was movement in the room, but no one seemed to be answering.

"Hey, it's me, Bucky," I called in. "Mind opening the door for me?" No one replied. "Guess not." I tried to turn the knob, but it was locked.

Suddenly, someone screamed from within the room. With that, I reared my foot back and slammed it into the door. It burst open, revealing an insanely damaged room. Emily and Wanda had fury in their eyes as they grappled with each other. Each had a scar on their face and Emily shrieked with pain as Wanda twisted her wrist in an awkward way. Emily brought up her leg and kicked Wanda's stomach, causing Wanda to roll away. I dashed in and held up my hands in front of Wanda and Emily, blocking them from attacking each other.

"What the heck is going on?" I spat, glaring at both of them. Wanda was sitting on the floor, her hand lying on her stomach. Emily was standing, glaring at Wanda, clutching her wrist, her shoulders heaving up and down as she panted. "Emily, outside now." Emily glared at me, her blue eyes piercing my heart as she stomped out. I flipped around and faced Wanda, who was hesitantly standing up. "What the heck Wanda?"

"It was my fault," Wanda panted, wiping the blood from her lips. "I invaded her personal space when I should have just asked." I raised an eyebrow. Wanda was never that easy to admit fault. She snapped her fingers and her room returned back to its normal state. I made sure she was alright before I walked back out to Emily, who was sitting against the wall, her head in her hands.

"Are you alright?" I asked, crouching beside her. She nodded and massaged her temples. "Hey." I reached out and gently grabbed her hand. "Do you want to get some aspirin?" She nodded and I helped her up. We walked toward the elevators and stepped in. I gave her a backwards glance. "You aren't going to faint on me again?"

"Wanda's fault," she replied simply and stepped inside beside me, turning to look at the wall. I shrugged and pressed the floor number for the hospital.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Chapter 5**_

[Emily's POV]

Bucky and I exited the elevator, just to run into Professor Cho.

"Professor," I growled, nodding my head in respect. The doctor just ignored me and stepped past us into the elevator. As soon as the door shut, I muttered, "I hate that woman." Bucky snickered beside me and we entered this lab area where Tony and Steve learned about my powers. Tony was jammed up in some robot's guts, and Steve was talking urgently with some tall man. Steve spotted us and waved us other. We approached carefully and I glanced at the new arrival.

"Emily, I want you to meet Clint Barton," said Steve, gesturing to the man. "Besides your fitness trainers, he'll help you get acquainted with the group." I shifted uncomfortably and Steve asked, "Are you ok?"

"She kind-of destroyed Wanda's room," said Bucky slowly. Clint and Steve's eyes widen with disbelief.

"What?" Steve demanded. I then launched into a full story of what happened between Wanda and me. He rubbed his eyes and shook his head. "Emily…I don't know what we're going to do with you."

"Deep breaths," said Clint, waving his hand in front of Steve's face. "I'm going to take Emily to get Chinese takeout." He grabbed my wrist and pulled me away from the other two men and I stumbled after him as we headed towards the elevator.

"Um…" I began, unable to process what he just did.

"You were in distress, I helped," Clint put in. "Don't worry. We can get Mexican if that works better." I rolled my eyes and my chest tightened up as we began to descend. I gripped the handles tightly. "Not again." Clint walked over to me and caught me as I slipped. Just standing still. "It's ok." He helped me sit down with my back to the gray wall. "How are you feeling?"

"It hurts," I whispered, trying to take deep breaths but moaning. "My lungs…it's always happened when we descend for some reason." Clint looked at me with brown eyes and gently placed his hand on my head. I took a deep breath, and this time, it didn't hurt as much. I closed my eyes and my head leaned into his hand. I always had this thing with people's hands on my head. It made me feel relaxed. "You like that, huh?" We laughed, and this time, my lungs didn't hurt. The elevator pinged and Clint scooped me up into his arms, taking a step outside. A blond woman glanced up skeptically at us, and her warm brown eyes smiled along with the rest of her face.

"Now Clint, I thought we talked about this," she teased gently, and Clint rolled his eyes.

"She couldn't breathe, I was helping," he replied, gently setting me down. "Emily, meet Sharon Carter. Sharon, this is Emily. She's going to be one of our new recruits."

"Nice…" she began, but a loud BANG rang throughout the car lot. We all fell to the ground and Sharon slipped out a gun from the waistband of her jeans. Clint followed suit, except he yanked out a compacted bow from his jacket. He removed his jacket, to reveal a quiver full of arrows.

"Emily, stay down," he ordered, and I laid on my stomach as Sharon and Clint kept hoping up and down, glancing over the railing to see who was firing. _They need my help,_ I thought suddenly. _Professor X's powers…_ I closed my eyes and sat up. I reached my mind out, and everything filled my mind with a blue aura. I could see Sharon and Clint in front of me. I pushed past them and spotted a slim figure ducking behind one of the cars. It was a red Sudan.

I smiled and reopened my eyes. I unfurled my wings and released my invisibility. Not caring that Sharon and Clint could see me, I catapulted over the railing and my wings began to flap. A sharp pain ached throughout my shoulders and I cursed, ducking behind a large white van. They were still sore from when I broke them. I unsheltered my Wolverine claws, which no one knew about, and snuck over to where the man was. A gun stuck itself out from behind the car and fired itself toward me. I used Professor X's power and flung the bullet toward a different car. I did an uppercut with my right hand, slicing the gun in half. I jumped in front of the attacker. It was a larger man (my aura got his size wrong) and he was bald, with tattoos dotting his body.

"Not today, freak," he growled, and produced another gun, firing it towards me. I slashed at it with my claws and it split in half. The man gaped at me and I thrusted my claws down. They dug into the concrete beside the man's legs and I used that as leverage as I slammed my feet into the man's jaw. An ugly cracking noise emerged and he fell down, unconscious. I quickly shielded my claws and my wings as Sharon and Clint appeared around the corner.

"How…" began Clint, his eyes wide. "That's Hobson. We've been after him for nearly two years…and you just caught him." Sharon called for an evac team and I glanced at Clint.

"Are we going to Chinese or not?"

 **:/:\:**

[Clint's POV]

Emily and I didn't talk all the way to the Chinese restaurant, Minho Foo. As we got our orders, I glanced at her with a raised eyebrow.

"How many know about your…extra appendages?" I asked hesitantly.

She bit into her eggroll and responded, "In the Avengers group…Tony, Steve, Wanda, and now you and Sharon." She rolled her shoulders. "They can get squeezed in a lot of tight places." She smiled. "I fit in a FedEx box once. Still proud about that." We drove out of the drive-through and headed back towards the tower. "Who exactly was that man who attacked us?"

"His name is Doctor Galileo Hobson. He's about thirty-five, although he refuses to tell us his real age. He had this thing with bombs and guns. He's had this grudge against us for the longest time. He is against the Winter Soldier."

"Any ideas why?" she asked, chewing on her orange chicken. I nodded as we paused at a red light.

"He worked closely with the Winter Soldier on one of his missions and wasn't pleased at all when he switched sides," I told her.

She nodded and suddenly asked, "When will I meet the Winter Soldier?" I raised an eyebrow at her like she was crazy. _You've met Bucky already…_ "I mean, I haven't seen him, but I heard he was in the program." I smirked as we pulled into the tower. _Oh you'll know eventually._ As soon as we got into the common room, everyone was freaking out over Emily, trying to make sure she was alright.

"I'm fine," she tried to protest, but no one would listen to her. I glanced up and saw Steve motioning me over with his finger. I stepped past all the adoring crowds and stood by him at the couch.

"We're taking the trainees to the compound tomorrow," he explained. "I'm going to need you to take Emily, Dixon, Bucky, and Melina." I nodded and watched silently as the crowd left Emily. She was talking quietly with Bucky, glancing around the room, and he gently bumped her, and the two of them giggled. "Does she know the truth?"

"No," I replied. "She wants to meet him though." Steve rolled his eyes.

"Make sure she doesn't find out until we know she won't go ballistic," he whispered to me as Emily approached us. She stood awkwardly on her toes, grabbing her wrist.

"I want to say I'm sorry for freaking out earlier with Wanda," she told us. "And I'm going upstairs to mend things with her. Hopefully, I'll still have a room." Steve nodded and Emily smiled, before doing something that totally surprised us. She walked up and gave Steve a giant hug and gently kissing my cheek.

"You two are great," she said, smiling, before following Bucky to the elevators. Steve and I shared a surprised look.

"She's your mentee, not mine," Steve said, holding his hands up and walking away.

 **A/N: I just remember that I should've done this a while ago. I do NOT own any of the Avengers. The wonderful Mr. Stan Lee does. I only own my OC, Emily Salgado.**


	6. Chapter 6

_**Chapter 6**_

[Emily's POV]

Thankfully, Wanda apologized profusely to me while I tried to apologize profusely to her, so we ended up agree to be sorry to each other. In order to please her, I cooked my famous recipe, "Avenger" brownies, while she was getting the shower in the bathroom working. I placed the brownies into the oven just as she exited the bathroom.

"The shower's warm if you want to get in," she said in her crisp accent. I nodded and gave her instructions to the brownies, because I usually took long showers. I stepped inside and proceeded to take my shower. Once I was done, I wrapped a towel around myself and stuck my head out of the bathroom. Wanda was fiddling with a charm on her bracelet.

I took a mental note that she had a charm bracelet and asked, "This is really ridiculous, but I don't know where they put my stuff. Could I borrow something of yours until I can find it?" Wanda nodded and walked over to her dresser. She pulled a few drawers out before grabbing a few things and giving them to me. I shut the door and took my towel off, placing on the outfit. In the end, she had given me a black, gothic type dress with a deep red leather jacket. I brushed out my hair and swept my hair to one side. I stepped outside of the bathroom and shut the door, turning on the air. "Did you grab the brownies?" She nodded and pointed to the pan. "Did you try one? They're really good." She smiled lightly before she pointed at it again. I glanced at the pan and gasped.

She had taken five brownies.

"Sorry, they were really good," she said, grasping another brownie, taking a dainty bite out of it. I grabbed three, placed saran wrap on the top, and took a seat on the couch. "Would you mind telling me about yourself? I promise I won't dig into your thoughts."

"Of course," I told her, smiling. "I also wanted to apologize, once more, for overreacting." I took a deep breath. "I'm an only child, and I used to live with my mom and my dad. My dad was called Luke and he worked on the police force in Ohio. When the Battle of New York happened, he was on a vacation in New York…" I took a shaky breath and wiped off a tear that had appeared in my eye. "He's been missing since, and that was six years ago." Wanda gasped slightly and I added, "My mom was a wreck. She was before and after my dad disappeared. I took some of the consequences from her anger. The night after my dad disappeared, I learned I had wings. The next year, my additional powers emerged. I got accepted into this school for mutants, and stayed there until I was sixteen. Afterwards, I returned home, and my mom had settled down a little bit, so I stayed there until you opened up the whole Avengers: Initiate program."

"Interesting," commented Wanda, gulping down the rest of her brownie. "Come on, let's hit the sack before we have to get up early tomorrow."

"What are we doing?" I asked excitedly. She gave me a look of pure enjoyment.

"You'll find out soon."

 **:/:\:**

[Steve's POV]

I stood with Bucky, Clint, Banner, and Tony in the common room, checking off all the initiates as they walked in. We had everyone beside Emily and Wanda.

"If they aren't here in five minutes, I'm going to go up and check up on them," Clint told me, and I nodded. Just as five minutes ticked by, Emily and Wanda rushed into the room from the lab, each of them looking like twins with black identical goth dresses with bright red jackets.

"Thing 1 and Thing 2 have arrived," commented Bucky, smiling at the two girls.

"I'm sorry, we woke up late!" pleaded Emily, panting. She shook herself out and stood up straighter. "So, where we going?"

"Well, Clint here is taking you, Bucky, Melina, and Dixon in his group," I told her. "Wanda, why don't you join him? Sharon, you go too." The blond haired woman nodded and ushered the group towards Clint. _Let's see how this goes._

 **:/:\:**

[Emily's POV]

When they said let's play some games, I did NOT expect this. I dove behind a large steel can bucket just as some paintballs hit where I had been standing. Bucky rolled behind a haystack and his voice filled my head-com.

"Are you alright?" he yelled, and I nodded. When the paintballs hit, it felt like a real bullet wound. Bucky had taken one to the shoulder, and Melina was gone as soon as she stepped on a paintball mine. Dixon was somewhere near the front, firing off shots while yelling orders to the other two groups that had joined us against the mentors. We had gotten Sharon and Sam Wilson, but that was it. I growled and glanced up over the barrel. I fell back down just as a paintball flew over my head. I closed my eyes and opened my aura. All the men were standing behind steel cans while the girls were hiding in the base, waiting for Dixon to be stupid enough to sneak in. There was one figure approaching us. I opened my eyes and stuck my gun on the outside of the barrel. I shot off three rounds, each of them hitting the target. I heard Clint cuss as he fell to the ground, his hands instantly grabbing onto his knees where the shots had hit.

"Nice shot!" Bucky yelled, rushing over to where I was hiding. We hid behind the barrel and listened to Dixon while he was hit in the chest by a paintball.

"We'll never get the flag if we're the only ones who stay alive," I told Bucky. "Listen, I have an idea, but it's going to surprise you."

"What do you mean…?" Bucky began, but I placed a finger on his mask.

"When you see the distraction, run and grab the flag and race back," I told him. I gave a weak smile and took off my mask, disconnecting myself from Bucky. He yelled at me some more, but I couldn't hear him over the paintballs. I unfolded my wings and let them come loose. I heard gasps from the other side and flung myself up into the sky. I held my hands out and our enemies began to tumble out of the way, clearing a straight path for Bucky to run through.

He got up and started to run when something hit my collarbone, causing me to cry out in pain. I held tight though, making sure no one was able to fire at Bucky. He nabbed the flag and made a mad dash towards our side, but two more paintballs came out of nowhere and hit me in the gut. I cried out, and my wings flailed me. The pain from my gut, shoulders, and collarbone was just too much to handle. I fell from the sky, hitting the ground hard, causing me to scream as my wings shifted in a wrong position. Someone scooped me up in their arms and I laid limp, my eyes glued onto the sky. I heard shouting and I looked up at my savior.

It was Bucky.

"Where's the…?" I began, coughing hard. I winced and moaned as the paintballs moved, causing more pain. He gently laid me down and placed a finger to my lips. He pulled out a bright ginger flag from his sleeve, and I smiled. "Good boy." He yanked off of his mask and smiled at me, before his face went slack. He fell to his knees and he let out a scream as his hands flashed to the back of his head, where there was a bright green splatter of paint.

I stood up, shakily, and screamed, "What the heck? We won!" I saw a smug look on Tony's face, and I staggered out of our base. "Is that how it's going to be?" I called forth my telepathy and got Bucky's gun that was lying on the ground. I fired off a few rounds, each of them hitting Tony in the chest. He collapsed to the ground, yelling in pain, and I smiled smugly.

"Emily! Enough!" yelled Clint, running towards me. That's when I saw it and he didn't.

He was going to step on a paintball mine. After witnessing what Melina was going through, I couldn't let him get hurt too.

"Clint, stop!" I screamed, but he didn't pay attention. Instead, he increased his pace. I spread open my wings and rushed over to him. I fell onto the mine before he got any closer and it erupted, slamming me in the face, chest, legs, and arms. I fainted before the pain got to me.

 **:/:\:**

[Wanda's POV]

I yanked off my mask and raced over to where Emily was lying limp, every inch of her covered in paint. My hands hovered above her and tears began to form in my eyes.

"Someone help her, please!" I sobbed, and Steve and Clint broke out of their daze, rushing over to where Emily was lying limp. I glanced over to where Bucky and Tony were writhing on the ground. "Vision!" The red-and-green android appeared and grabbed Bucky while I got Tony. Together, we all entered the compound and rushed towards the hospital wing. The head nurse, Clara, gasped as we showed her our fallen comrades.

"You didn't…" she began, but we nodded. She was always against our paintball game. "Put them here." We set them all down and Bucky shook his head.

"I'm fine," he said through gritted teeth. "I've been through worse." Clara grumbled and ordered him back onto the bed. He shook his head again and pointed at his bed.

"Use mine and Emily's bed to make it more comfortable for her," he ordered to Clara. He settled down shakily into one of the rocking chairs. "See? I'm totally fine." He winced as his head touched the cushion. I grabbed a tissue and wiped my tears, blowing my nose as well. Steve gently steered me out of the room and I sat down at the couch, bringing my knees shakily up to my chest.

"I have to go round up the other recruits and send them to bed," Steve whispered to me, gently brushing my dark brown hair away from my face. "Will you be ok?" I nodded, gulping down a fresh wave of tears. "If you need anything, just ask Sharon." I nodded and shook myself out a little bit. Steve exited the room, and that's when my tears started flowing. I gasped for breath and grabbed a nearby pillow, digging my face into the pillow.

 _Please be okay, please be okay,_ I prayed silently in my head. Arms wrapped themselves on me and I didn't even question it, I just placed my head on their shoulder and started sobbing. The person methodically rubbed my back and soon, I had calmed down a bit, but I was still teary-eyed. I rubbed my eyes and leaned backwards, getting a good look at the person. I gasped. The king of Wakanda, T'Challa, stared down at me.

"I'm so sorry," I whispered, hastily wiping my tears and turning away. "I didn't mean…" He shook his head and gently grabbed my chin, pushing my face back to face his.

His thumb gently wiped away my lone tears and he whispered, "It is ok. Not everything with me is royal. I come as a friend. Natasha called me earlier this morning. I now just arrived." Vision hovered into the room and I backed away from T'Challa. Vision was a little overprotective with me.

"Wanda, King T'Challa," said Vision, nodding to each of us in turn. "I wanted to alert you, Wanda, that Emily has awoken." I leapt to my feet and ran straight to the room, pushing past all the nurses. I grasped her hand, my eyes watering. Her eyes were open, barely, and they were flickering every which way.

"Emily," I whispered, and her eyes turned to me, a small smile creeping onto her face. "Don't try and speak. The doctors are going to have to wipe off the paint if they are to stop the pain. It will be very painful, but I can do something to hold the pain for a while." Emily's hand fidgeted in my hand, and I let go. The smallest thumbs up I had ever seen appeared, but it was there. I smiled and told her, "I'm going to start it." I flicked my fingers and my magic surrounded Emily.

Her eyes flared wide open and she yelled, "WANDA NO!"

I paused, cocking my head. Didn't she want help? Suddenly, Emily let out an ear-piercing scream, and her whole body started to convulse. I stood there in shock as what looked like my magic, only in blue, emerged from her hands, flipping upwards and sideways around her body. She gasped and fell limp onto the bed again. The head doctor grabbed me and yanked me out of the room and I started crying again. He slammed the door shut and I fell heavily against it, pressing my ear against it. I heard the doctor say that she was suffering from a seizure.

T'Challa rounded the corner again, shook his head sadly, and scooped me up in his arms as I sobbed, pounding my hands angrily on his chest.

 _I did that to her…I did that to her…What happened?_

 **A/N: I don't own Avengers. Tada! Hope you guys enjoy the chapter. If y'all have any questions, please leave a review and I'd be more than willing to try and help explain things to you.**


	7. Chapter 7

_**Chapter 7**_

[Emily's POV]

I groaned as I woke up, my whole body aching. I was no longer covered in paint, but my hands were still aching with pain, and so was my brain. I sat up shakily and snapped my fingers. Royal blue magic wisps emerged from my fingers and I spun my pointer finger in a circle, and the wisps followed it. I snapped my fingers again and the wisps disappeared. I shook my head, running my fingers through my hair.

 _Wanda gave me her powers…oh gosh…she doesn't know!_ I hastily yanked out the IV strand, ripped off my blankets, and changed back into my normal clothes. I tip-toed to the door and cracked it open. It was dark outside. No one was awake. I flicked off my light and stepped out, shutting my hospital door. I closed my eyes and activated my aura. It was like night-vision for me. There was a guard sleeping by my door. I ran past him, without touching him or making a noise. I swung my head back and forth. There was something lying in the corner. I walked hesitantly towards it. Just as my aura was getting clearer, a shiver ran down my spine. Something grabbed my shoulders and threw me across the room. I slammed into a book case, bringing it and myself falling to the ground. I grunted as pain flared in my wings. I wiped away tears and glared at the person who threw me. I had never seen anything like it. It was a man, by the way he was built, but he…looked like a cat? I brushed the books off of me and called forth my Wolverine claws.

"Listen kitty," I whispered. "Throw me again, I kill you." The man must've gotten aggravated, because he launched himself towards me. I did an uppercut with my claws, just barely missing his face as he dove into a roll, slamming himself into my legs. I was thrown off balance and tumbled to the ground. The man pinned me to the ground and I squeaked with pain as he twisted my wrist in a bad direction. I snapped my fingers and the magic wove its way down me and onto the man. It grabbed him tight, lifted him off me, and sent him flying into the couch. He quickly regained himself and stood high and tall on it. He yanked off his mask, revealing a dark-skinned man with cocoa eyes and close curly black hair.

He looked at me with concern and whispered, "Wanda?" He had a crisp African accent, but I didn't recognize it. A lit switch clicked, and suddenly all the lights flared on. My aura became fuzzy and I blinked, sending it and my claws away. Bucky, Steve, Wanda, and Clint all stood at the staircase to my immediate left, and Wanda nearly threw herself on me, wrapping me up in the tightest hug I have ever experienced.

"Wanda," I whispered to her, hugging her back just as fiercely. "I hope you realize you're hurting me."

"I don't care," she responded, and we hugged even tighter. As we backed away, she glanced over at the man standing on the couch. "T'Challa? What are you doing down here?" He pointed to me.

"I was guarding her door when I heard her light switch flick off. I figured I would wait until whoever was in the room left, and then appear. I thought she was an intruder, so I gave it my all. Then, this weird magic grabbed me and flung me over here. I was terrified that I was fighting you." I shook my head and snapped my fingers, my blue magic floating around myself.

"It's my secondary power I don't like," I replied, glancing at Wanda. "If a mutant or superhero or supervillain does their power, and I see it firsthand, I sort-of…obtain it…forever." Everyone in the room gasped, including Bucky.

"First you have wings, now you can gain abilities?" asked Clint in disbelief, throwing up his hands. "This is ridiculous! I obviously got the coolest mentee in the whole group." I nodded, gently rubbing my wrist.

"I apologize, Miss Emily," said the African-American, bowing slightly. "But might I ask…where did you get your claws from?"

"Claws?" questioned Bucky, raising an eyebrow. I stood back and called forth my Wolverine claws. The metal slid from my knuckles and I heard Wanda give a squeak. "Oh…claws." I nodded and slipped them back into my knuckles. Suddenly, a wave of dizziness splashed over to me, and I fell to my knees before hitting the floor. I felt Bucky's arms wrap around me and help me sit up.

"L…" I began, coughing hard. I was still extremely sore all over my body. "Lizzy…" Steve nodded and rushed back to my hospital room, emerging with the phone in his hand. Bucky waved everyone else away, and Wanda sat down beside me with T'Challa by her.

"What's her number?" asked Wanda, and I shakily repeated it to her, and she typed it in, putting it on speaker.

"Hello?" a voice asked over a phone. It sounded like a guy I knew all too well. I clenched my fists and said, "Hey Devon…it's me, Emily. I was wondering if Lizzy was there?" Bucky glanced at me with an eyebrow raised, and I waved my hand, telling him to ignore it.

"Of course I'm here, where did you think I was?" her voice rang out, and I smiled.

"Hey Liz…so I need to have a private conversation with you…without Devon." I heard an angry huff as Lizzy shooed him away. "Is he gone?"

"Spill, sister," responded Lizzy. I quickly explained everything that happened and she gasped.

"You landed on a paintball land mine?!" she shrieked. "I can't believe it! Emily, you already got hit by a semi! How are you…never mind, I'm not sure I want to know. How are your wings and wrist holding up?"

"Hardly, but I'm not dead yet," I laughed. "Let's just say I have really good protection here." I gave a sideways glance at T'Challa and he raised his hands in the air as a sign of defeat. "How's my mom doing?"

"Oh, she tried figuring out what 'finishing school' you went to, but she can't seem to find it," Lizzy replied, and I could tell she was smirking. "She's still herself I guess. Messed up since…" I grabbed the phone and quickly turned the speaker off, bringing the phone close to my ear.

"Lizzy," I growled underneath my breath, and she stopped.

"Sorry," she squeaked. "Forgot. Anyhoo, yeah. Nothing new or exciting here. Devon's taking me to prom." I groaned and shook my head.

"Devon is a back-stabbing, jerk-face who's only goal in life is to…"

"I heard that!" he yelled in the background.

"I gotta go Liz," I sighed. "I'll talk to you later." I hung up before she could answer and send a stool from the kitchen flying out the window with my telepathy in anger. No one really seemed fazed by it.

Wanda placed a gentle hand on my shoulder and whispered, "It is alright. Come on, I'll show you to our room." She helped me stand up and I followed her wearily up the stairs with T'Challa and Bucky following close behind me. I wasn't even sure where we went, but as soon as I saw an open door, I headed in and fell heavily onto the bed, falling asleep still dressed in my day clothes.

 **:/:\:**

[Bucky's POV]

I raised an eyebrow at Wanda and T'Challa as Emily fell asleep on my bed.

"I'll take the couch I guess," I told them, slipping onto the couch that was provided in my room. Wanda shrugged and laid down at the foot of my bed, snuggling up in the leftover covers. T'Challa grabbed a bean-bag and a throw-over blanket and slipped into the corner. I watched as the two of them drifted off to sleep. I laid on my back and stared up at the ceiling of my room. So many things were flooding through my head, especially the pain from the paintball wound on the back of my head. My left arm was aching and I gripped it tightly with my fingers. The cold metal shocked me at first and I sighed, shaking my head. _They'll never accept me,_ I thought, rolling over onto my left side as if to hide my arm from the world. _I'm the Winter Soldier…I'm just a villain trying to be a superhero…_


	8. Chapter 8

_**Chapter 8**_

[Emily's POV]

The first thing I noticed the next morning was I was cuddling with a pillow. I yawned and pushed myself up, glancing around. I was in a cozy little bedroom, which wood side paneling. A beanbag was in the corner, placed closely to the door. A few blankets that were on the foot of the bed now were surprisingly missing. I glanced lazily over my shoulder and I nearly squeaked when I saw a man's bare back. His back was strewn with scars, each of them crisscrossing each other. The man started to turn and I fell back onto the bed and closed my eyes, praying that he didn't see me watching.

"Emily…I already know that you saw me…"

I sighed and pushed myself back up onto my elbow, watching as Bucky threw on a black muscle shirt. That's when I noticed it. His entire left arm was metal. I gasped as my eyes ran along it. I couldn't believe it…

"Pretty cool, huh?"

"How did it happen?" I squeaked, unable to take my eyes off of it.

"Accident," he replied. "Sort-of fell off a train into a river." I gulped and he smiled weakly. "Come on. It's nearly breakfast. T'Challa and Wanda left last night." I nodded and rubbed my eyes wearily again, pushing back my blankets. My legs were decorated with all different kinds of bruises. Bucky walked over, and winced himself. "Well, I suggest no more jumping on paintball land mines to save your mentor." I nodded and stood up shakily. I was so exhausted. Bucky held out his hand to me and I grasped it thankfully, and he led me outside of the room and to the downstairs, where half of the Avengers were gathered around the table, including some of my teammates in paintball.

"Morning Emily," commented Natasha, smiling. Her face dropped when she saw my legs. "Paintball?" I nodded and she winced. Bucky got us both pancakes and lemonade for me and orange juice for him. I sat down on one of the bar stools and Bucky next to me.

"So, Emily," said Steve, nodding to me. His hair was extremely disheveled and he had a faint trace of a beard growing on him. "Remember the therapy we talked about earlier for your shoulders?" I nodded. "Well, that's going to start today."

"Cool," I commented, sipping my lemonade. "Who are my therapists again?"

"Me and the soldier," commented a voice. I groaned inwardly as I turned to face Dixon, the stuck-up brat who got shot during paintballing. "Don't worry. I'll protect you from the evil assassin." I called forth my claws and opened my wings wide.

"I don't need protecting," I simply replied before going back to eating my pancakes. After I was finished, Dixon led me to the gym, which was totally decked out in punching bags, a boxing arena, and a ton of fitness tools. He ushered me over to the section of punching bags.

"First things first," said Dixon, patting the bag in the center. "Punch here as hard as you can." I raised an eyebrow at him and he laughed. "Don't think you can do it?" _I might overdo it,_ I thought to myself. I took my stance and lashed out with a forward punch. It connected with the center, and the bag went flying back, barely staying on the chain. As it swung back down towards me, I twisted around and did a side kick to the bag. It shook and a small spot opened up, dripping sand.

Dixon raised an eyebrow and muttered, "Not bad…" Something hit my back and fell to the ground. I turned around and saw Bucky holding a duffel bag. One was laid out in front of me.

"You forgot the uniform," he commented, glancing at my outfit. "Change into that, then we'll back to therapy." Dixon growled something un-audible, but I grabbed the duffel bag and slipped into locker rooms, switching from my current outfit into a tight leather outfit that resembled SHIELD's old outfits. I stepped out after zipping up my tall boots and walked back to Dixon and Bucky. Both had changed into the uniform and I had to say Bucky looked good in leather. The two of them were arguing with each other, and I noticed Bucky's stance. It resembled his stance whenever he went into Stark's lab.

I quickly stepped in before any punches were thrown and we began therapy. Finally, after a while, Dixon deemed me ready to actually start fighting someone. I raised an eyebrow and wiped my sweaty brow. Dixon motioned me over to the boxing arena. I stepped hesitantly into the ring and Dixon stepped in after me.

"You're going to fight me until either one of us is too weak to continue," said Dixon, nodding to me. "It'll help us determine how bad your shoulders are. Oh…and no powers." I growled and folded my wings against my back. I held my hands up until Bucky tapped the bell and Dixon came rushing to me. Surprised, I stumbled away, barely missing a powerful front punch from him. I stood tall and scanned him quickly. Dark hair with tanned skin, a slight limp on his right leg…

I threw an uppercut and it connected with his jaw before he could move. Quickly, I ducked behind his elbow and kicked Dixon's knee. He grunted as he fell down, scrabbling to try and get up. I threw another front punch towards his face, but his hand came around and clamped onto it, halting all my movements. He twisted my wrist, and I hissed as pain raced up through my spine. Dixon jumped up and grabbed onto my shoulder with his other hand. He yanked me towards him, slamming his knee into my gut over and over again. I was completely defenseless. My other hand couldn't reach him, and even if it could, there was nothing except my powers that would help. In a desperate attempt, I flung my wings open, hoping to psych Dixon out.

It worked.

He let go and backed up, and I quickly rush him, throwing my arms around his waist and shoving him towards the ground. Once he was on the ground, though, it was a feeble attempt to keep him there. He shook and threw himself around until my hand got caught and pulled under him. I gasped as more pain emerged and I fell to the ground beside him, the beginning of tears forming. Bucky looked ready to jump in, but Dixon then jumped up and started slamming his foot into my gut over and over again. I cried out as he hits a paintball wound I was still recovering from. Finally, I couldn't stand it. My hands clawed out and blue magic leapt from my fingertips, wrapping around Dixon's ankles, tripping him. I spread my wings open wide and jumped to my feet, pinning him down with my magic. He struggled to move, and I squeezed it tighter.

"Too weak to continue?" I sneered, and he huffed, trying to work his way out. There was a gentle touch on my hand and cold shivers sliced through me. I froze and my magic stalled, allowing Dixon to leap up. He threw a punch towards my face, but a large bulky hand flashed out, nabbing it easily and clenching it tightly.

"We're here to help Emily recover, not to make her worse," Bucky said to Dixon in a low monotone voice. "Leave the gym. I'll finish the session with her."

"And if I don't?"

"Well, I'll make sure the Avengers know about your humiliating defeat to a crippled girl," Bucky responded, and I could imagine him smirking. Dixon huffed and stormed out, leaving Bucky and me alone in the gym. As soon as Dixon left, I grabbed my stomach and fell to my knees. I was going to be so sore tomorrow. Bucky caught me in his arms before I fell over and he held me close. "I lied about finishing the therapy session. You're going to your room so you can rest and recover." I shook my head, and struggled to stand, but fell again, this time against Bucky. I felt tears begin to rise in my eyes.

"No!" I demanded, wiping my tears out, shoving him away from myself. This time my legs couldn't hold out and I fell flat on my butt. I pulled my knees up to my chest and tried hard not to cry. "I can't…I need to show everyone that I'm not weak…"

"You aren't weak," Bucky answered, sitting down in front of me. He held out his metal hand and I took it in mine. "You are one of the strongest people I know, and I know a ton of strong people." I grinned slightly and that made his smile wider. "You were bullied?" I nodded and wiped away a few of my tears with my fear hand.

"Devon," I replied, shaking. "Lizzy's boyfriend. During the Battle of New York, Devon had just started dating Lizzy." I took a shaky breath and whispered, "And then when I got my wings, and Devon learned, he threatened to call the police if I didn't do everything he wanted me to do." Bucky's eyes widen slightly and I shook my head. "It wasn't anything bad…just extra homework or figuring out a nice date between him and Lizzy…cooking food for his parents when it was supposed to be him doing it." I shivered. "Finally…I couldn't take it anymore. I told Lizzy about Devon and my wings; she believed the wings part, but not Devon. They've been dating for 6 years now and she still doesn't believe me." I started sobbing onto my uniform and shaking violently. Bucky scooted over to me and held me close while I cried onto him. We sat like that for hours I think, me crying while Bucky tried to calm me down. We skipped lunch and finally, as dinner rolled around, while we were still sitting in the dark at the gym, someone knocked on the gym door.

"Emily? Bucky?" asked a voice. It was Sam Wilson. He opened the doors wide and flicked on the light switch, his eyes scanning for us. His mouth opened a little wider when he spotted me and my red eyes. "Oh my gosh, are you alright?" I nodded violently and looked down so I wouldn't have to stare into his eyes. "Do you want to come to dinner or do you want me to send it up to your room?"

"My room please," I whispered, my voice cracking. Sam nodded and left the room.

 **:/:\:**

[Bucky's POV]

Emily was so downhearted I didn't know what to do but just remain silent and hold her. She had had such a hard life. Bullying, powers she never wanted…Silently, I slipped my arms underneath her arms and her knees and hoisted her up. She didn't say anything, just buried herself into my chest. I sighed sadly and started making my way out of the gym and into the main compound. Some people glanced at us as we walked by and Wanda glanced up, her eyes widening at the sight of me and Emily. I just shook my head sadly and pushed past her, walking up the stairs and towards the rooms. I opened my room and headed to my bed, gently setting Emily down on the plush blankets.

"Get some sleep," I whispered, tucking a strand of blond-brown hair behind her ear. "We'll start training again in the morning." She nodded, shivered, and a lone tear dropped from her eye. I used my thumb to wipe it away and hesitantly, leaned over and kissed her forehead. "Good night." I got up and exited the room, heading back downstairs to where all the Avenger members were glancing at me.

"What happened?" demanded Wanda, her fists clenched. "What did you and Dixon do to her?"

"Relax," I told her. "She just experienced some PTSD."

"What happened?" asked Steve, stuffing some spaghetti into his mouth. I briefly explained her situation without giving away too much. If they wanted to know, they could go to her and ask that themselves. Steve's shoulders fell when I mentioned bullying. I knew why. Even the file SHIELD had on Emily didn't mention what Devon had done to her.

"All the best diamonds go under pressure," Clint declared, setting down his food. "Where is she, Bucky?"

"My room," I told him. "She seems to like it there. I'm going to come down here and rest on the couch." Clint nodded and took the stairs two at a time. I yawned and rubbed my eyes wearily. I flopped onto the couch and relaxed as the darkness took over, luring me into a deep sleep.


	9. Chapter 9

_**Chapter 9**_

[Emily's POV]

It was extremely cold in the room when I woke up, so I pulled my blankets tighter around me, yawning. Last night totally sucked, but it did have its perks. _I wonder where Bucky is…_ I pondered to myself. I pulled myself to my feet and walked over to a closet. Instead were mostly muscle shirts, but I found a red plaid lumberjack shirt and some small jeans that would fit me. I slipped inside the bathroom and changed, washing my face to rid myself of the insanely red face. I added some light makeup before stepping out, heading downstairs. The sun was just beginning to peek its way over the trees and I smiled briefly. I grabbed an orange juice from the fridge and settled myself on one of the single chairs, bringing my feet up beside me. I rested my head wearily against the armrest and I heard a sigh. Instantly, my head flung back up and I scanned the room. There was someone else here. I glanced over at the couch and noticed a lump there. I breathed out a sigh of relief. It was only Bucky. He twisted around once more before yawning and opening his eyes. He spotted me watching him with an amused expression and raised an eyebrow.

"First shirtless and now watching me while I sleep," he mused. "Someone's developing a crush." I rolled my eyes and stuck my tongue out towards him.

"Yep, I might swoon soon. Better be prepared," I teased back, taking a sip of my orange juice. "Listen…I wanted to apologize about last night. I didn't mean to go…you know, prima donna."

"Emily," said Bucky, seriousness filling his voice. He sat up and looked at me in the eye. It made me want to squirm. "Never apologize for opening up. I learned more about you than I did two days ago, and I'm satisfied with that." He shifted awhile before he was comfortably and then asked, "Am I the first person you told about your…background?" I gulped and glanced at my feet, nodding slightly.

"My only friends were Lizzy and Arlene…but…Arlene was killed…" Bucky sucked up a breath and asked quietly, "How did it happen?"

I took a shaky breath and whispered, "The day I met Natasha, Sam, and Steve…a guy came in…I went to ask what was wrong and he spat at me. Arlene was my boss, so she came to see what the commotion was. The guy was a mutant, with the ability to kill people by turning them to ashes. That's what he did with Arlene. I looked away before I could adapt his powers. I managed to defeat him, but…" I stopped when I realized I was crying. "Now it's pretty much Lizzy." I wiped my eyes on the plaid shirt and shook my head. "Arlene was really nice." I felt a gentle touch on my hand that was lying on the armrest, and I glanced up. Bucky was kneeling by my chair, gently squeezing my hand.

"Well, now you have me," he told me, nodding. "And Wanda, and Clint, and Sam, and Steve…maybe not Tony, but you get the point." I laughed, and he smiled. "I don't think anyone has told you this, but you have the cutest laugh I've ever heard. Reminds me of a retarded seal." I gasped and grabbed the pillow I was leaning against, whacking Bucky with it.

"That was uncalled for," I told him, and he laughed. He grabbed a pillow from his couch and we raced around the living room, throwing pillows at each other. There was footsteps coming down the stairs, and eventually, we had two teams fighting against each other. All the trainees were down here too, and it was awesome getting to know all of them via pillow war. We had three girls, Melina, Abby, and Olivia on our team. I wasn't aware of their powers, but it seemed they had good arms as they pelted Bucky and Thor in the face with pillows. We were all giggling and laughing until Tony came down and clapped his hands. We all fell silent and glanced at him.

"Children, children, Uncle Tony has come to the rescue," he said, bowing. "I've talked it over with The-Man-Who-Has-A-Plan," I noticed Steve roll his eyes across the living room, "and it has been decided. We shall be taking eight lucky initiates and sending them to Germany and London for some special field tests." He clapped his hands once more, and Vision appeared through the wall, carrying a list. I yelped slightly and everyone looked at me with a raised eyebrow.

"The ones heading to Germany shall be," he began. "Bucky, Dixon, Melina, and Pearl. The ones heading to London will be Emily, Abby, Olivia, and Scott." I turned to face Bucky sadly and he smiled weakly. "Wait…there's a problem." Vision whispered something urgently to Tony and he scrunched up his face.

"Change of plans kids," said Tony. "Emily, you'll be switching with Pearl." I grinned and winked at Bucky, who returned my gesture with a smile. "Go get packed. You'll be leaving on the QuinJet in a few hours." Everyone went into chaos as all the initiates raced to their room. I waited until everyone had dispersed before I walked up the stairs. I met Bucky up at the top, who was leaning against his door.

"Excited for Germany?" I asked him, and he laughed, shaking his head.

"Couldn't be more terrified," he said. "Germany and I have some…interesting experiences together." I raised an eyebrow and he shook his head. "Never mind. What about you? Excited to get out of the country?"

"Definitely," I told him. "I can't…" I paused, and let out a tiny gasp. "Oh no, oh no, oh no…" I turned to Bucky, terror entering my eyes. "Where's a computer? I need a computer." Bucky opened his door and headed to his closet, slipping a sleek black laptop from the top of his closet. I grasped it in between my fingertips and turned it on, entering the internet and going to my email. I had nearly ten different emails, all from my mother alone. I read them all quickly and started typing a response.

 _To: Charolotte Salgado_

 _From: Emily Salgado_

 _Subject: SORRY!_

 _Mom,_

 _I'm sooooo sorry I haven't been able to reply to your messages. Activities at this finishing school have been crazy! I've met a bunch of people who are super cool, and are just like me! So, I've been selected from all the kids, along with seven others, to go to Germany. I'm not sure how long I'll be out, but I'll definitely try and email you when I land in Germany. I presume that some of my teachers are coming along. We're going to be learning about in-field studies, so I'm totally excited._

 _Love you!_

 _Emily_

I sighed as I clicked 'SEND' and Bucky read my email over my shoulder.

"Finishing school?" he questioned and I shook my head.

"Ignore it," I told him, but he grabbed my wrist as soon as I placed the laptop back down. He pulled me up against his chest and my heartbeat starting beating faster than I've ever known. "Bucky…I told you…"

"Finishing school?" he questioned again, and I gulped, trying to step away, but he held tight. "Emily…why are you lying to your mother where you are?" I finally wrenched myself out and walked to the door. "Emily!"

"Just drop it ok?" I yelled back, wiping a tear that had just formed. "I can't explain it right now…not like this."

"Whatever it is, I just want to help you!" Bucky replied, racing to my side. "Em…you can trust me. I swear I won't do anything to hurt you…can you just let me in?"

I turned to him and gritted my teeth, glaring at him and I shouted, "You don't understand anything! You don't know what I've been through! You don't know that woman!" My whole body was shaking, and many other initiates stuck their heads out of their dorms to look at us. I stormed off and eventually find my room, where all my clothes were held and I stormed in, slamming the door shut. I let out a scream which was probably heard throughout the whole complex and fell onto my bed, grabbing a nearby pillow and clutching at it. There was a gentle knock on my door and I silenced myself, glancing above the comforters I had snuggled myself into. Clint was standing awkwardly in the door and I rubbed the tears from my eyes.

"You can come in," I whispered, trying not to start crying again. He walked over and sat down in front of me, placing a hand on my cheek. He leaned forward and gently kissed my forehead. I sniffed and he brought me up against his chest, gently petting down my hair. Clint whispered a few words while I leaned against his chest, trying to match my breaths with his.

"Are you ok?" he whispered after a few minutes. I nodded and pulled myself back from his chest. I brought my knees up to my own chest and rested my forehead weakly against them. "Why were you and Bucky arguing?"

"He saw something and he wanted to know what it was about, and I didn't want to tell him, because it's a touchy spot with me right now, but he wouldn't get the hints and kept pressing," I growled, anger starting to bubble up in my chest. "He's being ridiculous! I mean, if I said I couldn't explain it, he should be respectful of that!"

"Easy there, Eastwood," laughed Clint, gently placing a hand on my shoulder again. "I understand that, and I respect that, but maybe you should give yourself some of the blame too. You should have pulled him aside privately, and gently expressed how you felt about the topic and told him that it was too sore for you." I sighed and dropped my legs down.

I nodded and whispered, "I'm sorry Clint. I should've been gentler."

"Have you always been this temperamental?" Clint asked curiously, and I shook my head, laughing.

"In grade school, kids used to have competitions to see if anybody could make me mad," I told him honestly. "I was like the happiest child in the world, and no one could frustrate me. Then…" I gulped. "It happened." I took a deep breath and instinctively reached for Clint's hand. He gripped it tightly as I continued. "No one knows this in the Avengers group besides Wanda, but…" I brushed away fresh tears and gently whispered, "My dad's missing." I gulped and felt a new pressure on my chest. While crying, I said, "It was during the Battle of New York. He was a cop. He went a few weeks earlier for a National Cop Convention slash vacation thing, but then he was called in to help the people get to safety…he never appeared afterwards. It was said that he was killed during the battle, but…" I sobbed and nearly screamed, "He's not dead! I know that much. I don't know why he's missing. Sometimes I wonder if he hasn't shown up because he doesn't love me anymore…"

"That is the stupidest thing I've ever heard in my life," Clint commented, and I raised an eyebrow at him. "If he's staying away because he doesn't want you anymore, he's a bad father. It's not your fault; it's his. Wherever he is, I'm sure he wants to be with you, but something preventing him from actually _literally_ being here." He brought me close again and whispered, "I know this won't help at all, but consider me your foster father here at Avengers. Just until your dad gets here." I smiled faintly, and wiped the tears from my eyes.

"I would really like that," I told him, smiling. "I think I'll get ready for Germany then." Clint smiled, gave my head another kiss before walking out of the room.

 **:/:\:**

[Clint's POV]

As soon as I was far away from the compound, I whipped out my phone and dialed the first number. An amazing voice filled the phone and asked, "Yes? Who is it?"

I couldn't help it; a full-out grin broke out on my face as I replied, "It's me."

I could see her smile from across the phone and she yelled, "Clint! I can't believe it. Why haven't you called sooner?"

"There have been some problems with one of the initiates," I explained, and then launched into the story about what had just happened in Emily's room. My obedient wife was silent and listened and broke out laughing when I told her about what I had said.

"You just have this thing for pretty girls, don't you," she teased me lightly, and I laughed.

"What can I say? They love me," I teased her. She knew that I was joking. Laura was the pride and joy of my life, including my children. "But…being a bit of a foster father to Emily? Is that ok with you?"

"Well of course!" Laura responded with a laugh. "She sounds like a wonderful lady. During break, you must bring her here." I responded with a yes, said my goodbyes, and walked back towards the compound.

* * *

 **A/N: Hey guys! I feel like I should let you know that Solace's Wings won't get as much chapters as it has been in the last few days, mostly due to the fact that I now have to start writing them, and I'm kind-of on a brain fart. Thanks for all of your patience, though! Please review. I'd love to know what you guys are thinking**


	10. Chapter 10

_**Chapter 10**_

[Emily's POV]

I sat quietly in the QuinJet with Bucky, Dixon, Melina, Clint, Tony, and T'Challa. Bucky and I were still uneasy around each other, so the only noise was the mentors chatting with each other and Melina and Dixon giving comments in their conversations. Our jet shook for a second, and Bucky and I locked eyes. We quietly asked if the other was ok, in which we responded with a yes back to them. I got up and walked over to where Clint was sitting.

"Everything ok?" I asked, and he shrugged, tapping on a screen.

"Something seems to be aggravating it," he told me, pointing at an engine. "And we can't fix it because we're over the Atlantic Ocean right now." I glanced over at the other initiates and they all nodded.

"Let us do it," I told Clint, and all the mentors looked at us incredulously.

"Are you serious?" asked Tony, in which we all nodded. "The only ones who have a chance would probably be Emily and Bucky. Melina, Dixon…" Before he could continue, fairy-like wings appeared out of Melina's back and everyone jumped back. "What is it with the wings?"

"They aren't as strong as Emily's," she told me. "But they'll be able to keep me steady on the QuinJet. Plus, Dixon is an expert mechanic. He'll be able to figure it out." Tony glanced at Dixon for confirmation, who nodded. "We can do it." They were silent for a few moments before ushering us to get some harnesses on. I slipped mine on easily, but the hard part was trying to reach back and hook the harness by my wings. I struggled for a while before cold hands pressed against my back. I tensed up, but allowed Bucky to connect the final piece.

"Thank you," I muttered, and a smile showed on his face. I turned to face the others in our group. "Okay, here's the plan: Melina and I will help support Bucky and Dixon until we get to the top of the jet." Clint reached over and handed me a small tablet with the schematics on the QuinJet. "There are ridges on the top of the jet that should allow us to connect onto them. Melina, I want you near the jet at all times. Make sure that Bucky and Dixon don't fly off. I'm going to scope around, see if I can find anything."

"Be careful, Emily," Melina said as I handed Dixon the tablet. "Your wings are still broken. One wrong move and you'll fall."

"I'll take that risk," I responded, rolling my shoulders. T'Challa handed us each one com-link to put into our ear so we could hear each other without having to shout. "Hook up!" Bucky took position on my left, with Dixon to my right, and Melina just beyond him. We all interlaced our fingers and I gave Tony a nod, who slammed his fist into a button. There was a loud whoosh and the back of the QuinJet lowered, the wind whipping us around. "Everyone ready?"

"Is this a bad time to say I'm afraid of heights?" Melina yelled out, trying to be heard over the wind.

I smirked. "Me too, Melina. Everyone jump!" We raced forward and took the plunge.

 **:/:\:**

[Bucky's POV]

I gripped Emily's hand tightly as she and Melina soared us up. I could feel Emily straining from the weight of both Dixon and me. They swung around, flying hard to catch up with the QuinJet.

"Don't strain yourself, Emily," I warned her, and she replied with a grunt. With a yell, the two girls threw all of us onto the roof. I tumbled, then used my metal hand to grip onto a small piece of the jet. With my other hand, I clipped myself onto the jet. I looked over my shoulder and saw Dixon give me a thumbs up. He had made it onto the jet safely. Melina touched down shortly afterwards, while Emily seemed to be having trouble catching up.

"Clint, slow down," I heard Dixon's voice say through the radio. "Emily can't seem to catch up."

"If I slow down, we won't be able to make it," Clint called back, and I gripped onto my cord. "C'mon Emily…flap like your life depended on it."

"It does!" she growled back through the com. I focused on her while Dixon and Melina began to fix whatever was wrong on the QuinJet. "I-I can't!"

"Emily," I began, and she quieted down. "Focus on my voice. You can do this. You are stronger than your weakness; you are smarter than your flaws. You have lived with those wings for a very long time. You know what their breaking point is. You also know that they are nowhere near the breaking point right now." I watched as Emily did a barrel-roll in the air and I smirked. "Was that a 'I-Hate-You-Right-Now' roll or a 'You're-Totally-Right' roll?"

"Both!" she spat and I laughed. I slid over to where Dixon and Melina were fiddling with wires. "How we doing people?"

"Done!" shouted Dixon, shutting the little latch on the roof. He brushed his hair out of his face. "You won't believe what I found in it, too!" He gripped the sliver tightly and held it up. "I thought this thing got destroyed!"

"I thought it did too," I replied, disbelief in my voice.

In his hands, Dixon held a piece of the Tesseract.

 **:/:\:**

[Emily's POV]

"Somebody explain, right now," I ordered as Dixon unfolded the piece of cloth in his bag. Immediately, a bright blue glow radiated throughout the whole cockpit. "Why is the Tesseract in our engine?" Tony bit his cheek and turned away, not making eye contact with any of us. "Stark, the whole world was told that the Tesseract was destroyed."

"It's an Infinity Stone," Clint muttered, flipping a few more switches. "Dumb things can't be destroyed."

"Can we have some actual answers?" demanded Bucky, narrowing his eyes at the set of mentors. "Why is the Tesseract on Earth?"

"Well, the last time we saw the Cube was when Goldilocks took it back to Asgard with his deranged little brother, Loki," Tony admitted. "We've always assumed they destroyed it."

"Ok, we're finally getting somewhere," commented Melina, lounging around on one of the seats. "How about we skip to the part where you explain why we found a piece of it in the engine."

"You promised us it wouldn't malfunction," growled T'Challa, turning to face Tony. The billionaire raised his hands up in defense.

"I said there was a high chance it wouldn't," clarified Tony, and Dixon moaned, rubbing his eyes.

"Please tell me you didn't do what I think you did," he grumbled under his breath. Louder, he added, "Please tell me you didn't find a piece of the Cube and decide to use it to make a new engine." The tension between the six of us was so thick you could have cut it with a knife.

Before anything else could happen, Clint announced, "We're in Germany!"

* * *

 **A/N: Hey y'all! WOW! Over 1,000 views (close to 2,000! EEEK). Thank you all for reading this. It means so much to me. I'd like to dedicate this tenth chapter to** FanGirlForever19, **who so far has commented on every single chapter! Please, keep commenting! I love to hear what you guys think!**

 **Sorry if this chapter seems a bit rushed (cause it was). I'll try making the next one a bit more bearable XD**


	11. Chapter 11

_**Chapter 11**_

[Emily's POV]

I folded my arms across my chest and leaned angrily against the wall. We had just arrived in Germany, and we had quickly found a hotel to stay at. We were split up into three rooms: Melina, me, and Clint in one room, then there was Bucky, Dixon, and T'Challa in another, and Tony claimed his own room, which we were all cool with.

Melina sat on one of the two twin beds that Clint insisted we had. He had claimed the couch and was already conked out, shirtless with sweatpants on. She leaned over and grabbed a brush, stroking her delicate, black hair.

"Today was definitely eventful, that's for sure," she commented, yawning. She set her hairbrush down and glanced at Clint. "Does he have to stay with us? I mean, a grown man with two girls."

"Two _grown_ women," I corrected her. "He's fine. He wouldn't do a thing to harm us. Nobody here would."

 **:/:\:**

[Clint's POV]

I moaned as I woke up at one am. I pulled myself up, rubbing my eyes. Whenever I woke up in the middle of the night, I always needed some type of food in order to put me back to sleep. And I happened to know that there was a vending machine at the end of the hall. I got up quietly and made sure not to wake up Emily and Melina, who were both sleeping soundly. I slipped out of the room and padded down the hall towards the vending machine.

There was a rustling noise behind me and I flipped around, yanking out my collapsible baton from my pocket. I held it out in front of me like a sword, my eyes scanning for what made the noise. Nothing moved in the dark hallway, which unnerved me. I folded it back up and resumed my journey, collecting M&Ms, Reese's, and Skittles. Once my sugar high was completed, I headed back.

I reached my door and leaned over, twisting the knob.

Except it didn't twist.

Disturbed, I tried twisting it harder, seeing if I just needed more strength. It was a 'no'.

Suddenly, an ear-piercing scream erupted from inside the room.

I took a few steps back before raising my foot, slamming it against the door. I did this two more times and it completed opened up. The light was on in the bathroom, giving some light in the room. Melina was cowering by the walk-in closet near her bed while Emily was struggling against a tall, broad-shouldered figure. The man had her in a headlock and she had tears streaming down her face as she tried to claw her way out.

"Let her go!" I ordered, trying to keep my voice from shaking. No one, and I meant _no one_ was going to hurt Emily. "Step away from the girl." The man didn't say anything, just kept holding on tightly. Finally, I backed up and slid across the floor, pulling out my baton. Emily jumped at the last second and I used my momentum to slap the baton across the man's ankles. He grunted as one of them cracked and that gave Emily more than enough time to elbow him in the gut and duck out of his grasp.

"Get out of here!" I ordered, and Emily grabbed Melina before the two girls raced out of the room. When I turned back to face the perp, he grabbed me around the throat with a single hand before picking me up and slamming me against one of the walls. I choked and my hands tried to instantly pry the fingers off.

But they seemed stiff, as if they were almost made of... _metal_. I brought my elbow around and slammed it on top of his arm, breaking the choke hold. The man pulled his arm back to deliver a skull-crushing punch when something tackled him from behind. The two people were sent tumbling into the couch and I threw myself onto a bed, flipping around so I could survey the mess.

"What's going on?" demanded Tony as he stormed into the room. He flipped on the lights and I gasped when I saw the perp's face.

It was Bucky.

 **:/:\:**

[Bucky's POV]

I blinked my eyes and suddenly found myself pinned to a couch by T'Challa with vibranium claws an inch from my throat, Clint shirtless on one of the beds with his baton pointed towards me, and Tony standing in the doorway looking pissed off.

"W-What am I doing here?" I stuttered, glancing around as best as I could. I frowned. "This isn't our bedroom."

"Do you know who you are?" Clint demanded, jumping off the bed so he was closer to us. "Answer me."

"My name is James Buchanan Barnes. I prefer to go by the name of Bucky. My best friend is Steve Rogers, who is known as Captain America," I blurted out. T'Challa sighed and pulled his hand back, rubbing his eyes. "Now what the heck is going on?"

"You went under," Tony said darkly, and everything in me froze.

"I-I what?" I breathed, unable to process what he just said.

"You tried to kill Emily and Melina," Clint clarified, glowering at me. "I left for one measly minute and you go under and break into the room, trying to kill the two of them."

"The Winter Soldier took over," T'Challa muttered, leaping off of me, and I shook my head.

"That can't be," I muttered, looking at all three of them with terrified eyes. "Banner and Cho promised me that the Winter Soldier was gone."

"You can never really get rid of a part of yourself," Tony stated, and I glared at him.

"Not now, Stark," I barked, and I began to unintentionally rock myself. "I didn't...I mean...no, no, no, no, no..."

"We're leaving," ordered Clint, pointing at Stark. "Call Cap and tell him we have a situation down here." He turned to stare straight at me. "If any of the girls ask, you came in to rush the perp with the others. He broke your ankle because of it."

"G-Got it," I stuttered, only half paying attention.

I had just tried to kill Emily.

I tried to kill her.

Emily.

 **:/:\:**

[Emily's POV]

Clint came into the QuinJet with him and T'Challa holding Bucky up, who was limping. Dixon and I ran to take over for them, helping Bucky into one of the seats. Tony came in afterwards and shut the door, heading straight for the cockpit. I sat down beside Bucky and watched as Clint began to set his ankle.

"What happened?" I asked, wincing whenever I heard a click. Clint glanced up at Bucky, who shared a look with him, before turning back towards me.

"Bucky came in with T'Challa and Tony," explained Clint. "Perp got a hold of him and broke his ankle. Ducked out of the window sadly. We don't have the medical tech needed to treat him here so we're heading back to the compound."

"Of course," I said, nodding. I turned towards Bucky. "How are you feeling?"

He didn't even bother to move and just grumbled, "Fine." I narrowed my eyes at him. I knew we weren't on good speaking terms, but this was pushing it a little far.

"Bucky, I'm sorry I overreacted back at the compound," I began, gulping. "I should've handled it better. I'm sorry."

Bucky didn't even make a move. I rolled my eyes at him and clenched my fists. "If you're not talking to me because of something I did..."

"Emily," interrupted Tony, gesturing for me to come to the front of the plane. I glanced at Bucky sadly before getting up and heading over to Tony. "Check on Melina for me, will ya? Don't want the little tyke to get overwhelmed with what happened tonight."

"Aye aye, Uncle Tony," I said sarcastically, giving him a dainty salute before heading over to the shocked Melina.

* * *

 **A/N: OH MY GOSH! Over 2,000 views! You guys all make my life so happy! Please, anybody who reads this fanfiction, reviewwwww**. **I love to know any comments you have, questions you may want answers to, conspiracy theories about what may happen next. ANYTHING. I'm really not that picky ;p**


	12. Chapter 12

_**Chapter 12**_

[Emily's POV]

As soon as I stepped foot on the compound, a familiar presence brushed against my consciousness.

 _ **Emily!**_ Wanda screamed through our telepathy.

 _Hi Wanda_ , I answered back, smiling. I offered my arm to Melina, who took it gratefully. The poor girl was still shaken up, even though it had been a few hours since the incident. _Have I got a lot to tell you._ Everyone dispersed when we got in, and I headed straight for my room. As soon as I opened the door, I was tackled by Wanda. I laughed and hugged her tightly in return.

"I missed you so much!" she sighed, squeezing me one last time before pulling away. "What happened? Steve didn't tell us any details." I invited Wanda into my room and we both sat down on my bed. I folded my legs underneath myself and recounted the scary tale of what had happened only a few hours earlier. She gasped and her eyes went wide as I mentioned how Bucky had broken his ankle trying to attack the perp. "Emily! Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," I dismissed her, waving my head. Unconsciously, my hand began to rub my throat. "I mean, I am a bit sore from where the guy head-locked me, but it'll pass. Speaking of which, my wings are actually doing better. Super healing really comes in handy." Wanda chuckled at that and we talked until the sun was high in the sky.

There was a light tapping on my door around noon, when Wanda and I were sprawled out on my bed, focusing in on an intense game of rock-paper-scissors.

"Come in!" I called out, not taking my eyes off of Wanda's hands. We threw down and I won the game with paper to her rock. She groaned and grabbed a pillow, shoving it into her face.

"How are you so good at this game?" she moaned. She took her pillow off and narrowed her eyes at me. "You don't have precognition powers...do you?" I giggled and shook my head, turning to see who our guest was.

"What's up, Clint?" I asked, pulling my legs into a criss-cross position. The old man was dressed up with a plaid shirt with worn-in jeans.

"Wanted to check up on you," Clint admitted, coming over and sitting down next to Wanda. "It's not everyday when my protegee gets headlocked in the middle of the night by some weirdo."

"How can I be your protegee?" I snorted, rolling my eyes. "So far I've come nowhere near a bow and an arrow since I got here."

"It's not my fault I don't trust you around pointy objects," Clint fired back playfully. "Ok, enough funny business. Real reason I'm here. We're having takeout tonight and I drew the short straw to gather everyone's orders." Wanda tapped her chin in concentration.

"I want something spicy," she concluded, nodding with satisfaction. She turned to me. "What about you?"

I stopped to think for a small moment. "Taco. I would kill something for a taco right now."

"You are killing something," commented Clint as he stood up and walked towards the door. "A cow."

He got a face full of pillow for that.

 **:/:\:**

[Bucky's POV]

I slammed my fists harder and harder into the punching bag, gritting my teeth as I did so.

I almost killed her. Emily. The one person who didn't treat me like I was a kicked dog.

I growled with frustration, flipping around and slamming my foot into the bag before falling back into my routine of punching. I went as fast and as hard as I could, relishing the feeling of warm blood trickling down my one good hand. I licked my dry lips and felt a surge of hopelessness well up in me. I let out a yell of frustration before slamming my metal arm into the bag. The punching bag's cables snapped and the bag went flying across the gym, slamming into the boxing arena. I panted, pushing the heels of my hands into my eyes. I couldn't lose control again.

"I know you do anger management sometimes, but did the punching bag really deserve to be mauled and assassinated?" a sly voice commented. I flipped around, seething, as Natasha stood by the doorway, an eyebrow raised. "What did it ever do to you?"

"Go away, Romanova," I hissed, flipping around. I stalked over to the punching bag and grabbed it, yanking it up. I could feel her presence behind me in an instant, so I swung myself around, whipping the bag with me. She dropped to the ground and the bag missed her by a few inches. When she came up, she threw a punch towards my defenseless side. I let go of the bag and using my left hang, grabbed her wrist before she could actually make physical contact. Then, I slapped her across the face with my free right hand. She gasped before turning back towards me. She ducked underneath my arm, twisting it awkwardly. Within seconds I was on the ground, hissing as the Russian pushed my arm higher and higher on my back.

"Looks like the old man is a little rusty," Natasha chuckled, and I burned with rage.

"Don't you know the meaning of 'go away'?" I screamed, lashing my leg out. It caught her in the ankle and she collapsed down beside me. I panted, resting my forehead on the cool tile floor. "P-Please..."

"You went dark and almost killed Emily Salgado when you both were in Germany," Natasha stated, almost matter-of-factly. I flipped around and stared at her with wide eyes. "It wasn't your fault. You can't control the episodes."

"I should've felt it coming on and gone away, or not signed up in the first place!" I yelled, slamming my fist into the floor. It left a large crack and I pinched the bridge of my nose. "I could have killed her."

"Yeah," commented Natasha, leaning against the boxing arena's floor. "But you didn't." She stared pointedly at me. "That's the Barnes inside of you. Sure, you could say that Clint was the one who actually saved her, but listen to me when I say this: the Winter Soldier has over a dozen kills. You know I've seen you up close and personal when you were under and had a mission. You could have killed Emily without even going into the room. If you had to go into the room. one slug and she would've been gone. Two and no one would've noticed until you were back in your room or gone. You chose, subconsciously, to choose the messiest way in order to prevent yourself from killing her. Why headlock her? You gave Emily a chance to survive. A chance to fight back." Natasha got up and winced as she put pressure on her ankle. "I'm just saying, a trained KGB assassin wouldn't do that. A gentlemen from 1940s who lived in Brooklyn? Yeah, _he_ would. James Buchanan Barnes would."

Natasha flipped her hair before limping out of the gym, leaving me alone to my silence.

* * *

 **A/N: Hey y'all! Almost over 3,000 views. This makes me the happiest little tyke ever! Chapter 12 is done. Chapter 13 should be coming hopefully sooner than Chapter 12 did ::winces::. If anybody has any idea of something they would like to see (like a mission gone right ;p), please leave a review! I'm kinda hitting writer's block with this and not sure what to do next :)**


	13. Chapter 13

_**Chapter 13**_

[Emily's POV]

A couple more weeks passed, and I rarely saw Bucky. Usually, it was only glimpses before he turned down a different hallway or excused himself from dinner, even though he hadn't touched his food. I did my best not to be upset by it, but I was really missing his companionship. Wanda was going above and beyond to make up for it, including me in things that, according to Steve and Clint, she considered a 'her-and-Pietro' thing. I quickly learned that Pietro was her twin brother, a genetically-enhanced individual like Wanda, who had been killed in Sokovia a while before I had made an appearance.

I continued my therapy-slash-training with Clint and Natasha, since Bucky obviously wasn't going to and Dixon had been busy with other things. Before I knew it, I was acing hand-to-hand combat. They insisted I used my abilities, but I was still holding back, not wanting to accidentally slice one of their faces off.

One day of training was particularly hard.

I narrowed my eyes and took a deep breath, focusing my mind. I whipped my arm around and in one smooth motion, I perfectly sliced a metal representation of a Hydra goon in half. Clint clapped from where he was standing, a far enough distance so he wouldn't be caught in the crossfires.

"Nice work!" he commented, coming closer as soon as my claws were back in my hands. "Now, as I was saying earlier about your training, we..." He broke off when a loud bang rang through the room. The two of us turned and saw Bucky standing there with an expression of disbelief and confusion written on his face.

"I thought you were training earlier," he said gruffly, avoiding eye contact with me.

"Since Nat had meetings all today, we decided to push out training a couple of hours," Clint explained, eyeing the tension between the two of us. "Feel free to use the gym. We'll just be here." Bucky tensed up, but walked to the other side of the gym, dropping his gym bag to the floor. I jumped a little at the loud noise it produced. "Hey Em, you doing alright?"

"I'm fine!" I squeaked, turning to Clint. He raised an eyebrow at me and I subconsciously ran my hands through my hair. "I mean...I'm sorry, Clint. Things still haven't gotten better between Bucky and me."

"I know just the thing," Clint said, giving me his signature smirk and wink. I froze as he turned and cupped his hands around his mouth. He wouldn't...

"Hey Bucky! How about a little one-on-one with Emily?"

The man stopped and turned towards us and I could feel heat rushing to my face. There was an awkward silence before he answered, "No thanks."

"Aw come on!" grumbled Clint back. "I need someone who can match Emily in her fighting abilities. Not saying I'm weak or anything, but you have a metal arm." I could see the muscles tensing up in Bucky before he groaned and nodded. "Great! Meet in the boxing arena."

"If I don't die from this fight, I'm going to kill you," I hissed to Clint as I slipped through.

"You'll thank me later," Clint replied, giving my back a supportive pat. "Now, rules of the game. There are no rules!" Bucky gave a little chuckle before Clint ran around the ring, dinging the bell. "Fight!" I held my hands up protectively in front of my face as me and Bucky began to circle each other. Bucky dashed forward, lashing out with his fist. I ducked underneath it, then grabbed his arm, catapulting myself onto his back. My arm wrapped around his throat and I began to squeeze.

"I just wanted to say," I growled through gritted teeth, trying to focus on not getting thrown off. "Thank you for what you did in Germany." He used his metal arm and grabbed my wrist. He easily ripped me off his back and threw me across the arena. I landed hard and felt the wind get knocked out of me. "Guess we're still not talking."

"Focus on the fight, Emily," Bucky responded, rushing me. I did a backwards somersault, dodging a mean elbow that would've cracked one of my ribs. I grabbed his neck with my hand and used it to steady myself as I brought my knee up towards his face. It connected and he hissed in pain, jumping away. "See?"

"I want us to be friends again," I insisted, spreading my hands out in front of me. "Back as we were before Germany and this whole mess started."

"Why do all world-ending conflicts happen in Germany?" Clint randomly commented from where he was leaning up against the wall.

"Shut it, Barton," I spat to him, and he raised an eyebrow.

"Who gave you that mouth, your mother or your father?" Bucky sneered, and I froze, unimaginable anger filling up in me. I ran towards him and called on my Wolverine claws. Bucky's eyes widen and he barely escaped, my claws just barely scratching his arm before he ducked out of the way. I turned to face him, pointing my claws at him.

"Never mention my father again," I hissed before climbing out of the arena and stalking away from the gym.

 **:/:\:**

[Bucky's POV]

I scoffed as Emily stalked away, grumbling curses. Probably at me.

"What's her deal?" I grumbled, turning towards Clint. Instantly, I was stumbling back, hot white pain racing through my system. _Clint just punched me_. "What the..."

"Are you an idiot naturally or did the Russians make you one?" spat Clint, balling his hands into fists. "You are the most insensitive jerk I've ever met, and I've met Tony."

"What are you rambling about?" I yelled back.

"Emily's father is MIA," Clint responded, and I stopped, my eyes widening in doubt. "Don't believe me? It was _our_ fault. He got called in to help defend New York when the Chitauri came and invaded. She was twelve when he went missing. She's eighteen right now. Six years, Bucky. She's been without a father figure in her life for six years, and you just had to insult her about it."

"I-I never knew," I stuttered, trying to recompose myself. "She never mentioned her father to me...only her mom."

"Oh, don't even get me started on that woman," Clint rambled, rubbing his eyes. "She's even worse." I opened my mouth to ask how, but Clint interrupted me, saying, "When Emily's ready to tell you, she will. Until then, go out there and apologize to her. She needs support and you might be the only one who can give that to her."

* * *

 **A/N: Hey everybody! It's a little shorty, but don't worry! I'm going to try and get Chapter 14 up in a few days! Enjoy!**


	14. Chapter 14

_**Chapter 14**_

[Emily's POV]

"That good for nothing, little son of a..." I growled under my breath as I stomped out of the gym. I headed out of the complex and went straight towards the garage, where we kept most of our heavy duty cars. I ducked in between the SUV and the Jeep and curled up in the fetal position, resting my head on my knees. "Why does he always have to get on my nerves?"

"Something the matter?" a voice interrupted. I squeaked and jumped, turning to see who it was. I relaxed when I saw a tall, lithe man wearing a typical mechanic's outfit. "Whoops! Sorry to disturb you."

"No, it's alright," I sighed, running my fingers through my hair. "Guess I should've been smarter in picking my hiding spot." The man took a few hesitant steps forward and asked tentatively, "If you don't mind me asking, who are you hiding from?"

"Bucky Barnes," I grumbled, shaking my head. "We got into an argument a few weeks ago. Now, he refuses to talk to me, and every time he actually does, we end up fighting." I leaned back, resting my head on the giant Jeep's tire. "Right now I could disappear and he wouldn't notice."

"Sounds rough," the mechanic commented, coming a little bit closer. "But thankfully, it works along with my schedule."

"Your what...?" I asked, turning towards him with a confused expression. The man suddenly lunged towards me, and I didn't have enough time to call on my claws. Something pricked my neck and I immediately started seeing stars. I shoved him off of me and gasped, my throat suddenly dry. "What did you give?"

"Zolpidem," the mechanic coughed nonchalantly. "More commonly known as a knock-out drug."

"T-These things take up to ten minutes to affect a normal human being," I gasped, resting my forehead against the floor. My eyelids began to flutter and a yawn escaped from within me. "H-How come it's faster on me?"

"I had a couple of friends in the med lab whip me up one that would take down an elephant," the mechanic chuckled. "Even with your fast metabolism, you should be out in another ten seconds." He leaned over towards my ear and whispered one thing before I blacked out.

"Hail Hydra."

 **:/:\:**

[Bucky's POV]

"Emily!" I called out, racing out of the gym. I searched everywhere in the compound, but she was nowhere to be seen. As I was coming back towards the little kitchenette, I bumped into Steve. "Steve! I'm glad I found you. Have you seen Emily anywhere?"

Steve shook his head sadly. "I know her and Clint were training late."

"I screwed up pretty bad," I moaned, running my fingers through my hair. "I pissed her off and now I'm trying to find her so I can apologize, but she's nowhere to be seen."

"Don't worry, you'll find her eventually," Steve chuckled, a humorous glimmer in his eyes. I looked at him with confusion. Steve rolled his eyes and leaned up against the wall. "You know, you two have that same nervous twitch."

"What?"

"You both run your fingers through your hair," Steve stated again, gesturing towards me. "I've noticed it for a while and thought it was adorable. She's a really lucky dame."

"Dame? Wait...what? No, no, no...Emily and I aren't...we...you're mistaken," I stammered out, shaking my head. "Emily and I aren't together."

"Well, if you stay that way for another three months, then Natasha will win our little bet, and we can't have that happening," Steve said, glancing at a nearby calendar. "So I suggest you pick up the pace if you want your best bud to win fifty bucks." With that, Steve turned around and sauntered down the hall, leaving me spluttering.

 **:/:\:**

[Clint's POV]

I yawned and checked my watch. Nearly midnight, and Emily still wasn't in her room. I shifted my position on the beanbag in her corner and folded my arms again, focusing on the door. Bucky, who was worried about Emily too, was lounging on her bed, staring at the door with intense focus.

"She can't teleport."

Bucky glanced at me in annoyance.

"Emily can't teleport. Not one of the adapted powers she got," I continued, yawning. "So, if you want her to come through that door, then you'll need to get up and actually look yourself."

"I have," Bucky fired back. " _Twice_. She's not in the compound." Bucky pulled himself to a sitting position and whispered softly, "What if she ran away?"

"Don't be ridiculous," I scoffed, rolling my eyes. "Listen, Bucky, just because there's some beef between you and her, that wouldn't be enough to make her run away from the one thing keeping her sane." Bucky raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Out of all the Avengers, who is the one person she keeps on coming to when she needs advice or a friend?"

"Me," he whispered, staring down at his chest.

"Yep," I affirmed, shivering slightly. "Bucky, to her you are one of her closest friends. I would say best friend but I don't know how Emily gauges between a close friend and a best friend." Bucky chuckled at my statement and a small smile formed on my face. "So, she wouldn't purposefully run off."

 _Purposefully_.

I threw myself to my feet and raced out of the bedroom, heading immediately straight towards Steve's room. I heard Bucky calling out from behind me, but I ignored him and shoved open Steve's door. The super soldier shot up in his bed, his hand instinctively lying on the shield that stood by his side.

"Clint? What the heck? It's midnight," Steve grumbled, using his hands to rub his eyes.

"I know why Emily hasn't shown up yet," I told Steve. He opened his mouth to say something, but I interrupted, yelling, "Listen to me, Rogers! Emily didn't run off or just hasn't come back yet. She was _kidnapped_."

 **:/:\:**

[Emily's POV]

When I came to, I was strapped in a chair. A bright light shone on my face and I averted my eyes to prevent myself from going blind. A gruff laugh came from a nearby person and I turned to see who it was. However, the light caused the darkness to be darker, so I couldn't see through the shadows.

"Where are you?" I yelled. "Where am I?" I tried to jerk in my chair, and was horrified to find out that I couldn't use my muscles. "W-What happened to me?"

"Have you ever heard of curare?" the gruff voice asked, chuckling slightly.

"I liked history and English, wise guy, not science, so why don't you fill me in?" I spat sarcastically.

"Told you this one had a mouth," a familiar voice remarked. I tensed up as the mechanic from the compound stepped into the light. "Hello! Remember me?"

"How could I forget? You drugged me in my home," I replied, rolling my eyes. "Dude, ever heard of creativity?"

"The name's Norbert, and the answer is no," the mechanic replied cheerfully. "Now, my dear, as my partner was trying to say, curare is a type of drug that paralyzes all voluntary functions. This is why you can't feel your arms or legs. Anything from the neck down, really."

"Bad move not paralyze my mouth," I commented. "I can get very annoying."

"I'm sure your boyfriend agrees with you," Norbert stated smoothly, moving to the other side of the circle. "I wonder what he'll think when he finds you're missing. 'Hallelujah'? 'Was she kidnapped?'? Or, my personal favorite, 'did she run away because she was angry at me'?"

"Just tell me why you decided to kidnap me, an Avenger-in-training," I spat, and the gruff person stepped forward. He obviously was the muscle of the duo. He had a large, thick face with a long red beard and no hair on his head. He worse a plain red t-shirt and a black mountain vest with jeans and steel-toed boots. "You must give me the number of your stylist. Those clothes make me want to die."

"There's a certain person who we want back," the man in red said. "Someone who could prove useful to our plan."

"The Winter Soldier?" I put in, and Norbert looked at me with amusement in his eyes. "I hate to break it to you, but even _I_ haven't met the guy yet. He's been totally MIA since I came into the whole Avengers life."

"Maybe, maybe not," Norbert said, tapping me on the nose. I growled and he took a step back. "That's what you think."

"She seriously doesn't know _he's_ the Asset?" the man in red snorted, folding his arms across his burly chest. "She's been with the X-Men for what, three years?"

"Two," I corrected, but he ignored me.

"My dear, trust me when I say this: The Winter Soldier will come. He will come for you. He will always come for you. And when he does, we will be waiting." Norbert snapped his fingers and the man in red disappeared back into the shadows. "Now, my dear, we can't have you struggling around for another couple of hours, so down under you go again." The man in red returned with a syringe and my eyes widened with fear.

"N-No, please, don't put me under again," I begged, tears forming in my eyes. "Please, I beg of you." I let out a scream slash sob as the man in red injected me with a needle, and I fell unconscious in a few seconds.

* * *

 **A/N: Hey my fellow fangirls and fanboys. So, with the curare and the zolpidem drugs, they are ACTUAL real life drugs. Curare is usually used for as a muscle relaxant during surgery and zolpidem is usually used for treating insomnia. Now, keep in mind I am not a criminology professor, so I have no clue if these drugs could actually be used for the purposes mentioned in story. If so, DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME.**

 **I would like to give a shout out to** FanGirlForever19 **for giving me the idea of Emily's kidnapping and Bucky being to blame (kind-of).**

 **Now, y'all remember the rules: review if you have any comments, questions, concerns, conspiracy theories, etc. :) Enjoy!**


	15. Chapter 15

_**Chapter 15**_

[Bucky's POV]

I closed my eyes and tried to memorize her face. Her dazzling blue eyes, her carefree, yet serious smile, her thick, luscious golden blond hair. And yet, the harder I tried to think of her, the farther the memory was getting. I groaned in frustration and slammed my fist onto the couch cushion beside me. I placed my head in my hands and held it there for a while.

Clint, Steve, and Tony had divided the compound up into three groups, with the exception of T'Challa, Wanda, and me. T'Challa claimed he wanted to stay at the compound and protect it, in case whoever took Emily decided to come back. Wanda opted to stay at the compound as well, claiming the last few nights had not been good on her, and she needed rest. Me? I wasn't given a choice. They didn't want me to go under again.

I could still hear the conversation playing through my head.

 **:/:\:**

 _"What do you mean you want me to stay here?" I demanded, slamming my fist on the table. No one looked surprised at my outburst, and I swore I even saw pity in some of their faces. "Emily was kidnapped, I want to help."_

 _"It's in the Avengers' best interest if you stay here," Vision stated politically. I rolled my eyes and glared at him. "You can help His Majesty watch out for the compound..."_

 _"We can't have you going under again," Clint interrupted, staring pointedly at me. I narrowed my eyes and we had a little stand-off. "You tried to kill Emily once. Who says you won't do it again?"_

 _"Doctor Cho..." I began, but Clint cut me off._

 _"Doctor Cho promised that it would go away?" he snapped, crossing his arms. "Yeah, that's what she said about my side. But everyday, I still feel that piece of myself get torn off, disintegrated. Nothing can change that and nothing ever will. Face it, Bucky: you are a loose cannon."_

 _"What would Emily say if she was hearing all of this?" I questioned, staring at them all._

 _"You know what she would say, Buck," Steve told me, his voice softer and gentler than the others. "Stay here. Stay safe. Don't risk your life for hers."_

 **:/:\:**

"Bucky?"

I flipped around and saw Wanda holding two steaming mugs filled with what I presumed was tea. She walked over, setting the mugs on the table, before sitting next to me on the couch.

"Are you ok?" she continued, cocking her head slightly. I reached forward and took a hold of the mug. I took a gulp of it, finding relief as the scalding liquid scorched my throat.

"What do you think?" I retorted, not bothering to look at her.

She sighed and I heard a faint slurp as she took a sip of her own tea. "I think you're pining after Emily. And you need to do something about." This time, I turned and stared hard at her.

"Disobey orders?" I asked tentatively, and Wanda shrugged, standing up.

"Everybody will interpret it differently." I watched as Wanda walked out of the room and set my jaw. I put my mug down and reclined down on the couch, staring up at the ceiling. The camera in the corner instantly twitched and turned to me. I groaned. Those cameras captured everything and it could be super annoying.

Captured everything...

I slowly pushed myself and planted my feet on the floor.

"Jarvis, bring up every video that involves Emily Salgado and another person."

 **:/:\:**

[Emily's POV]

My head was aching. All my senses were dulled and I couldn't see straight. Every twitch, every breath, was a constant source of pain.

"She's not handling the drugs as well as we thought," a voice commented quietly. It was Norbert. "Perhaps we should cut back?"

"The boss man wants us to push her," another person put in. "Bump up the dosage."

"That I refuse!" Norbert fired back. "Anymore and she will go into a catatonic state." There was a silence and he added, "I have to get back to the compound otherwise someone will notice I'm missing."

I rolled my head around, ignoring the nausea and the pain that flooded my head. I blinked my eyes until I could see clearly and I stared directly at Norbert. He was in his mechanic outfit again.

"Hey Car Dude!" I called out weakly, and he turned to face me, astonishment filling his face. "Is it too much to ask for some peace and quiet if I'm doing to die?" I leaned back in my chair and muttered, "So much for chivalry." Norbert rushed over to me and gripped my face, pulling it up so we were at eye level. "Ouch."

"Have you been sweating?" Norbert demanded, and I raised an eyebrow despite the pain.

"What kind of question is that?" I chuckled, coughing. He backed away in disgust and I gulped. "Of course I've been sweating." He rushed forward and placed a hand on my arm, pulling it back. On his fingertips was a faint gleam of some sort of clear liquid. He lifted it to his nose and sniffed it, and I even heard his colleague gag. "What are you doing?"

"T-This is the curare," he stuttered, holding his hand out to his comrade. It was the man in red, and he stood up, taking a sniff of it. His face paled and he looked at Norbert in disbelief. "She is literally sweating out the drug. Her body is converting it into something she can use and getting rid of the poisonous part."

"So I'm a distiller?" I put in, and the two men looked at me. "What? I just want to get all my facts straight for my will." The two men turned to each other and began conversing quietly and I hunched in my seat, feeling another wave of nausea hit me.

 _Come soon, Bucky...please..._

* * *

 **A/N: Hey everybody! Sorry the chapter is a little baby compared to the other ones. I will be trying to update more.**

 _ **theflyingpenguin**_ : **I totally understand where you are coming from, with the whole EMILY IS SO OP. Emily DOES have a weakness. It just hasn't come up yet, because there has been no need for it. She has her own dark side, like half the Avengers XD**

 _ **Guest:**_ **I LOOOOOOVE long reviews, so yours was perfectly awesome :) There will be some reconciliation between Bucky and Emily, trust me :)**

 **Remember, everybody knows the rules by now ;p Feel free to leave any comments, questions, concerns or conspiracy theories. Also, I'm thinking after Emily gets rescued (if she does MWAHAHAHA), I would add a little fluff chapter. If anybody has any cute little fluff (between characters) please let me know.**

 **I just want to let everybody also know that there will be absolutely NO romantic relationship between the guys and NO romantic relationship between the girls. I'm looking for sibling fluff, parental fluff, or Emily/Bucky fluff.**

 **Thanks!**

 **BecomingFearless1F**


	16. Chapter 16

_**Chapter 16**_

[Bucky's POV]

I slammed the back door of the Hummer shut, feeling my rage grow more and more. It was the mechanic, the one that Tony had promised us was "totally chill" and his credentials were "sound". I marched over to the driver's side and yanked open the door, pausing slightly when I heard footsteps behind me. Instinctively, I pulled the Glock 17 I always kept in my back hip holster, and pointed it towards the human-sized door in the garage.

Wanda gave me a smug smile and cocked out her hip. She was decked out in her black corset, leggings, boots, and bright red leather jacket.

"No."

Wanda's smile faltered and she crossed her arms across her chest.

"Why not?" she demanded, her accent thicker than ever. "I told you to do this. I should be coming with you."

"I'm not putting another person in danger," I replied gruffly, putting my handgun back. I checked my armored vest one last time before I slipped inside the Hummer. Within a few seconds, Wanda was sitting in the passenger side. "Wanda..."

"What kind of friend would I be to you and Emily if I didn't come watch your back?" Wanda fired back. I was silent and she smiled triumphantly. "Now, do you even know where she is?"

"The abandoned warehouse on Miller and 3rd," I answered, pulling a folded up map from my pocket. I handed it to her as I added, "Target's name is Norbert Tangstum. He was that shifty mechanic guy that Tony hired a few weeks before Emily joined. Jarvis tracked his car to that warehouse."

Wanda stared at the map, her finger slowly drawing a circle around the building. "How do we know she is still there?"

"Norbert, ever since he started working here, has asked for only one thing: let me see the Winter Soldier." I flipped on the engine and it roared to life. Darkly, I said, "Now it's time for him to meet me."

 **:/:\:**

[Emily's POV]

I shivered, moaning as shocks of pain arched throughout my body. I gritted my teeth and tensed up. Ever since the two madmen discovered my metabolism, every non-life threatening drug they could think of they shot me up with. Morphine, opium, even another round of zolpidem. There were never satisfied.

The good news was I was slowly becoming immune to the drugs, so the curare was wearing off. I could roll my shoulders, twitch my fingers. Everything was coming slowly, but it was coming.

Norbert and Joseph (the man in red) were loudly arguing with each other in the darkness. As quietly as I could, I started shifting the ropes back and forth across the back of the chair. The corner of the wood bit into the ropes and I could already feel them loosening up.

"Sir, we have a perimeter breach," a new voice broke through the arguing. I froze and I could see that they stopped too. "It's the Asset and the witch."

 _Wanda!_ I cheered in my mind. I calmed myself and focused on her, bringing forth a picture of her face. _Wanda, please tell me you can hear me?_

 ** _If I said no, would that be a yes?_**

I resisted the urge to burst out laughing, and instead gave a sigh of relief. _Wanda, you need to go back. These guys are after the Winter Soldier. They will stop at nothing to get him. Go. Back!_

 ** _Considering he would kill me if I even mentioned that, I can't_** , Wanda replied. _**We're about to come through the gates. We'll see you soon**_.

 _Wanda!_ I screamed, but she disconnected us. I growled in a low voice and clenched my jaw. I wasn't going to let her get killed.

With some newfound strength, I screamed and yanked at the ropes. They snapped, and I pulled out my claws, snipping away the ropes at my ankles. Norbert and Joseph turned towards me, disbelief in their eyes.

"Next time, chaps, don't piss off a mutant."

Gunshots rang throughout the building, but I was up in the air before the bullets could even touch me. I swarmed towards the dozens of men with guns, knocking each of them out as soon as I got close. For those farther away, I brought out Wanda's magic, using the auras to trip them or fire their guns at other people. I flew up towards the rafters and hid in a dark part, tucking my wings close to my back.

"Someone get her!" screeched Norbert. "Someone destroy her!"

"How sad," I said, my voice echoing throughout the building. I slipped to the other side of the building as gunshots fired at where I was previously. "Is the little scientist having problems?"

"Where are you?" Joseph yelled, his handgun raised high in the air.

"I'm everywhere," I replied, before catapulting myself towards the two men. Just as I did so, a large Hummer broke through the giant doors.

 **:/:\:**

[Wanda's POV]

I flicked my fingers, sending three men into the wall and Bucky brought out his handgun, driving and nimbly firing at a few others. He slammed on the brakes and we both hopped out. Instantly, I spotted Emily fighting a large man with red hair, while a familiar face was scrounging through the papers on his desk. I stuck my hand out and watched in satisfaction as my magic tied the man up, preventing him from moving.

"I have the scientist!" I called out to no one in particular. When I turned, I saw the man in red was disabled, and Emily was lying on the ground, panting. "Emily...?"

"Man, I need a cheeseburger," she groaned, putting her hands over her eyes. "Or maybe a taco...hey, do you happen to know what the greasiest, most unhealthiest food in New York is?" I chuckled and motioned Bucky over with a finger. He knocked the last guard out and strode over to me. "Looks like you lost, Norbert."

"How is she holding onto me?" Norbert stuttered, looking at me with wide eyes.

"Maybe I'm a witch," I sneered, and he shrunk back a little. "Now, why don't you tell my friend here what he wants to know?" Norbert nodded frantically and Bucky took two giant steps forward, putting his handgun to Norbert's chest.

"Why did you want to see me?" Bucky demanded, pushing the gun farther into the man's chest. The man gulped and responded, "E-Everyone wants to see the Winter Soldier." Bucky flinched at the name and I saw Emily sit up, her eyes wide with disbelief.

"Y-You're the Winter Soldier?" she gasped, and Bucky ignored her for the time being. He nodded to me and I dropped my magic, leaving Norbert unharmed.

"You are coming back with us," Bucky ordered quietly. "You will answer all my questions, or you will die a death worse than pain itself." Norbert nodded frantically as his face went pale. "Wanda, load him up. I'll be right there." I nodded and wrapped my magic around Norbert, walking away to leave the two lovebirds by themselves.


	17. Chapter 17

_**Chapter 17**_

[Emily's POV]

I sat in shock as Bucky strode over towards me, regret filling his eyes.

He was the Winter Soldier?

Bucky, the one who I got into a pillow fight with, the one who held me while I sobbed my heart out, the one who tried to save me in Germany...

"Please say something," Bucky whispered, and I was jolted out of my shock. His lower lip was wobbling and I could see he was trying really hard not to cry. "Anything..."

"Explains the metal arm."

Bucky looked at me with wide eyes and snorted, which caused me to laugh. He stood a seat across from me, completely ignoring the fact that there was an unconscious man beside me.

"I'm sorry for keeping this from you," he whispered, his human fingers trailing the grooves along his metal arm. "I didn't mean to but we all agreed it was probably for the best."

"I understand, Bucky," I told him, and he looked at me with disbelief. "I-I wasn't really in control of my temper back then. Or now, for that matter." Bucky snorted and glanced down at the guy beside me.

"So, what do we do with this guy?"

 **:/:\:**

[Bucky's POV]

Clint was dumbstruck when Wanda and I arrived with the two men responsible for Emily's kidnapping and Emily. The archer had leapt off the couch, tripped over a couple of blankets, before swooping Emily up in a giant bear hug.

"Are you alright? Where are the guys who hurt you? I'll give them..." Clint began, but Emily cut him off.

"I'm fine, Clint," she said, yawning slightly. "I just really need some rest."

"Of course!" Clint gushed. He paused before putting a hand on Emily's forehead. "Hey Em...you're burning up...are you alright?"

"Fit as a fiddle," she responded, weakly waving her arm. "I would like some sleep. Natural sleep, please. Do you know anybody who sells some?"

Tony grinned and walked over, placing a hand on the small between Emily's shoulder blades. I tensed up and Wanda noticed. "Well, you're lucky I know a guy. His name is Mr. Pillow-In-Your-Room. Come, I shall introduce you to him." As they walked away, Wanda folded her arms and turned to me.

"I didn't think a former KGB assassin could get jealous," she snorted, giggling a little. My eyes widened with disbelief.

"What?" I gulped, licking my lips. "I'm not jealous."

"Whatever," sniffed Wanda. "I'm going to go to bed." With that, she flipped around and stalked the way Tony and Emily headed.

 **:/:\:**

[Emily's POV]

I felt ten times as refreshed when I woke up the next morning curled up in my duvet. I stretched my limbs and sighed with happiness as I could actually move my arms and legs.

"Good morning, sunshine," a warm voice interrupted. I stuck my head out of my burrito-formed blanket and smiled as Wanda entered. She was wearing sweats and a baggy t-shirt, her hair put in a messy bun on her head. "I brought breakfast!" She held up the tray and I could already feel my mouth watering. "Figured they didn't feed you."

"Not very much, no," I admitted, wiping all the tiredness from my eyes. "They were more interested in seeing how much they could jack me up." Wanda's steps faltered, and she almost fell over, but my magic shot out, catching and steadying her body. "You alright?" Wanda nodded, sniffing slightly, before sitting down on the edge of my bed. She handed me the tray and I greedily dug in, ignoring all manners and eating the food with my fingers.

"Tone yourself a little, Emily," Wanda chuckled, rolling her eyes.

"What's on the bracket for today?" I asked, gulping down another piece of my pancake.

"Right now, for you? Nothing," Wanda told me. "Clint has made it very clear that you are not going anywhere without one of us beside you."

"But I was sleeping by myself all night," I whined, sitting up a little straighter. I froze when I heard a rustling noise coming from my bathroom. "He did not..."

"Good morning, sunshine!" Clint mimicked as he sauntered out of my bathroom. He was wearing a pair of loose sweatpants and his chest was bare, showing off his toned abs and scars. "I'm home!"

"I swear, Clint, if I wasn't so interested in eating right now, you would be dead," I growled, gulping down the orange juice. Clint snorted and plopped down beside Wanda.

"You? You're barely a kitten. You couldn't handle the fierce tiger known as moi," Clint retorted, sneaking one of my sausages off my plate.

"Hey!" I fired back, struggling to lean forward and steal it back. "That's mine!"

"I wasn't here all night," Clint said, taking a bite out of the sausage and laughing at my horrified expression. "Wanda came in and we switched places. Bucky tried to convince us to let him in on the schedule, but I don't trust that whippersnapper, so I refused."

Suddenly, all the memories from last night rushed me, like a tidal wave. I gave a small groan as a massive headache began. Rubbing my temples, I looked at Clint. "Did you know that Bucky was the Winter Soldier?"

Clint froze, half of the sausage still in his mouth. "I don't...know...what you...mean."

"Right," I grumbled, shaking my head. "You just kind of refused to tell me that the man I consider my best friend was a former assassin for Russia?"

"Not exactly what you would put down for best friend material," a new voice put in. Bucky walked in slowly, a shy smile on his face. "Hey Emily...how are you doing?"

"Feeling much better," I sighed, a small smile forming on my lips. "Uh...Wanda, Clint, could you guys give us a minute?"

"I need to take a shower anyways," Clint said, heading straight towards my bathroom.

"Nuh-huh," I responded, flicking my fingers. The blue magic wrapped Clint up and began to drag him out of my room. "No more using my bathroom for your personal gain."

"I'll make sure he stays out," Wanda told me, winking. "Have fun, kiddies." I blushed profusely and Wanda slapped my arm. "Such naughty thoughts, Emily."

That made Bucky blush and Wanda was laughing all the way out.

I leaned forward and patted the bed beside me. Bucky approached cautiously, the same way he did last night when he rescued me.

"I want to know everything," I whispered, locking eyes with him. "Everything."

"Everything is going to take a long time," he commented, taking a seat.

"If there's anything I've learned these past few days, it's patience and resistance," I snorted, rolling my eyes. I laid back and looked at him with genuine interest. "Tell me about your life."

"Well," Bucky began, taking a deep breath. "The first thing you should know is that I was born in 1917, and was the eldest of four kids..."

* * *

 **A/N: W-What's this? BecomingFearless1F has come back from the dead?!**

 **Sup my readers! Yeah, I know I've been AFK for foreeeeeeeeever. Well, I'm back, baby, and with a new chapter!**

 **Fluff chapter ideas are still up! Feel free to leave a comment or review on something you would love to see happen, and I'll see if I can work it into my schedule ;p**

 **First off, to Anonymous who commented on Chapter 15, OH MY GOSH. I nearly cried from your comment. It made my day sooo much to read your comment (over and over again, if I might add).**

 **Thanks still to FanGirlForever19 for coming back no matter how boring this story may get. And thanks to that another Anonymous reader (idk if you're the same person) for reading Chapter 16.**

 **Enjoy friends, I may have something special in store.**

 **Also, I may put a poll up for adding in a new character, or for revealing one. The options will be Emily's father (memory), Emily's mother (memory or reality), or an old friend.**

 **You know the drill: please review with any comments, questions, concerns, or conspiracy theories. I love to hear them all! Apologies for the long A/N note :)**


	18. Chapter 18

_**Chapter 18**_

[Emily's POV]

 _My scream pierced the night air, and I laid under my blanket, shivering. I reached forward and grasped onto my Rudolph stuffie and squeezed tightly, whimpering. My bedroom door creaked open and I yanked the covers over my head, trembling. A baritone chuckle entered the room, and I instantly relaxed. It was just Dad._

 _"Emily, mitt barn, whatever is the matter?" he asked, sitting at the foot of my bed. I pulled the covers off and could barely make out his shape._

 _"I-I don't want you to leave tomorrow," I gulped, rubbing my eyes wearily. "So what if you miss that convention? Nobody would notice! You could just stay here and we could have ice cream like we always do." My dad chuckled and leaned forward, gently petting my head._

 _"Min ørn, you know I have to go. Remember what I told you," he said. "_ _Bekymringer gått, glede nå. Concerns gone, joy now. Emily, I know you can be strong without me. Just three weeks. I'll call you every night, and if you and your mother want, you can come and visit anytime you please."_

 _"Really?" I gasped. He nodded. "But you're going to miss my birthday..."_

 _Recognition dawned on my father's face, and he leapt up, strolling out of the room. A minute later, he returned, with a giant present in his hands._

 _"I meant to give you this tomorrow morning, but I think you would prefer it now," he told me softly. He helped me tear it apart and once it was done, I gasped as I pulled out a beautiful kitten quilt. "I know you are more like an eagle, but kittens are good too."_

 _"Who thought Luke Salgado would like kittens?" I chuckled, and my father scuffed up my hair._

 _"Don't tell anyone at work. I have a reputation to uphold," he teased me, wagging his finger at me._

 _"I won't," I promised. "I love you, Daddy."_

 _"And I love you, mitt barn."_

 **:/:\:**

I woke up with a scream and panted, rubbing my eyes. My dad...I hadn't had a dream about my dad in two years. I felt a deep ache in my chest and I couldn't stop the waterworks from making an appearance. I pulled my knees up to my chest and buried my face, trying to quiet my sobs. There was a frantic knocking on my door, but I ignored it, focusing on my breaths.

 _You are alright, Emily_ , I said quietly to myself, repeating the mantra over and over.

I felt a light touch on my shoulder and lifted my head slightly. Clint stood there, looking worried.

"Emily, is everything...?" he began, but I threw myself at him, wrapping my arms around his chest. I sobbed and he just stood there, gently rubbing my back soothingly. After a few minutes, I got a hold of myself and sat back down. He followed suit and brushed the hair out of my face. "Emily..."

"I just had a dream about my dad," I whispered, wiping away any unsung tears. "It was the night before he died. He gave me this quilt," I gestured towards the blanket that was spread across my bed, "and he used to speak to me in Norwegian whenever I got scared."

"Would it help if you talked about what your dad was like?" Clint suggested. I chewed on my lower lip, and nodded.

"His name was Luke Salgado," I began, sniffing. "He was one of the most handsomest man I've ever met. He had this really luscious black hair. I have no idea what hair product he used to make it so silky. He was really tall, like Thor-tall. He was from Norway, and so he used to speak to me in Norwegian, calling me ' _mitt barn_ ' and ' _m_ _in ørn_ ', which means my child and my eagle, respectively." I glanced behind me and willed for my wings to appear. They fluttered once the light hit them and I sighed. "Maybe he knew I would get these."

"He sounds like a wonderful man," Clint replied softly. I reached forward and gave his hand a squeeze.

"You two would have loved to meet each other," I told him. "I used to watch him practice knife-throwing in our backyard. Once, he taught me how to do it. Got bulls-eye the first try."

"Atta girl," Clint smirked, and I rolled my eyes.

"When he..." I gulped. "He died...I felt like a part of myself disappeared. My mother..." I couldn't continue. I looked away and Clint shifted on the bed, throwing an arm around my shoulders.

"I read your file," he whispered. "I know what your mother was like. I used to have an older brother named Barney. We...we didn't have the best life. But you want to know why I survived? Because I made the most of it. I lost my parents. But I stood tall and knew that they wouldn't have wanted me to wallow in my sorrow. They would've wanted me to stride towards all these different goals."

"D-Did Clint Barton just make a s-speech?" I sniffled, coughing. Clint rolled his eyes and playfully shoved me.

"Go back to sleep."

 **:/:\:**

[Clint's POV]

I gently shut the door to Emily's room before immediately picking up my phone and dialing one number.

"Barton, report," a low, gravelly voice whispered.

"Fury, you better know for sure of what you are doing," I lowly growled as I stomped my way back towards my room. "I am not putting up with this any longer. I will say this one more time, Emily Salgado is not a threat."

"Agent Barton, you have barely known this girl for four months," Fury replied and I could hear the eye roll. "She is your mission. Your job is to make sure she doesn't go AWOL."

"Oh yeah, and what if I say that you're full of..." I began, but trailed off when I spotted Natasha standing in the doorway. "For the last time, she isn't a threat. Goodnight." I hung up and growled before promptly chucking my phone at the wall.

"What's with the tech destruction?" Natasha asked, raising an eyebrow. I folded my arms and plopped onto my bed.

"Level 7 Access," I moaned, and Natasha looked even more confused.

"There hasn't been Level 7 Access in what...couple of years?" she said, walking over to my bedside. "What's Fury up to now?"

"He's positively convinced that Emily is a threat," I spat, and Natasha nodded.

"You know she is, Clint. Her abilities are unlike anything we've ever seen," Natasha told him gently. I sat up and glared.

"She's just a kid!" I argued.

"She's eighteen."

"Still a youngster! What were you doing when you were eighteen?"

"I believe I was trailing a Russian mobster who threatened to tell the world about the Red Room and so I was hired to kill him."

I sat there silently, unable to come up with a good comeback. "Whatever, Nat. She's a _child_. The only reason I'm doing this is because I owe Fury. A lot."

"Clint, you just have to keep doing what you're doing," Natasha told me softly. "Watch out for her. Be the father-figure she lost. To her, just be you."

* * *

 **A/N: Hey everybody! Here's another chapter!**

 **So, I'm putting out a little challenge (or plead): I am looking for some fan art to use as the cover of my story. If anybody who's good at that sort of thing creates one, please PM it to me. I would love to see some of your creative juices flowing!**

 **Basically, it has to have Bucky and Emily on the front cover. If you find someone who matches the description of Emily from the story, use it :)**

 **Can't wait to see what y'all send me. Don't be surprised if I don't respond to your guys' messages. I personally don't talk with people I don't know, so yah... :)**

 **Also, even though I have the poll out, I decided to add in a little memory of Emily's.**

 **Please leave a comment, question, concern or conspiracy theory about anything you want to let me know!**


	19. Chapter 19

**TRIGGER WARNING: Mild mentions of abuse**

* * *

 _ **Chapter 19**_

[Emily's POV]

"A what?" I asked incredulously, looking at Tony with disbelief. The older man rolled his eyes and pointed a screwdriver at me. For some reason, I swore off time in order to connect more with the middle-aged mechanic, but right now, I was realizing how stupid of a decision that was.

"Sort of like a family potluck," said Tony, sitting up. "We invite friends and family over in order to have a good time."

"Tony, you know about my strained relationship with my mother, obviously," I added darkly, rolling my eyes. I plopped down onto a spinning rolly-chair and yawned. "Why would I want to invite her to come be with the people who I told was a finishing school?"

"Take it from a guy who understands," Tony said, cursing when one of his machines zapped him. "You seriously don't want to keep secrets from your parents. It always comes back to bite in the end." He turned and stared at me. "You know, for a while, I start thinking you're normal and then realize you're hiding a pair of invisible wings."

"The better to distract you with, my dear," I mumbled, rolling my eyes. "So what, I invite my mother and then she finds out I'm a mutant who is being hunted down and that my best friend is an assassin who is okay sometimes but other times wants to kill me? Oh, and don't get me started that this group was the reason that Chitauri came down to Earth and the reason my father is _dead_." Tony winced and set his tools down, rubbing his eyes with his hand.

"Did you know I got nightmares?" asked Tony, tilting his head. When I shook my head hesitantly, he continued, "Yeah, every single night I always briefly dream of flying up into that vortex to shut the portal down. Sometimes, it's only a flash, and other times, it's the whole night. And, every night when I fail, it's always a different person who dies."

"I have nightmares too," I gulped, suddenly feeling dizzy. "About my mother." Tony nodded, his usually sarcastic self gone. "You read my file?"

"Who hasn't?" he snorted. I giggled and sobered up.

"My mother abused me," I put simply, licking my lips. "When my father died, she just...went off the deep end. Sometimes, it would be once every day, other times it was in the morning and then at night..." I felt one lone tear fall from my face. "So...when I was fourteen, an angel appeared to me. He told me of this boarding school for gifted youngsters, like myself. I took the chance. Stayed there until I was sixteen, when I was forced to go back home. My mother instantly started back up. A week before I left to join the Avengers, she seemed to be getting better, but..." I shrugged. "Life intervened, it seems."

"Do you have any scars?" Tony asked suddenly, and I shivered in my seat.

 _Way too many to count, bub._

"Some."

"Have you showed anybody?" Tony asked, grabbing a hammer from a nearby cart.

"My best friend, Lizzy," I told him, biting my lower lip. "I went to her as soon as my mom started again when I was sixteen. I still get some...phantom pain, as Lizzy calls it, from the scars. The nightmares are about her discovering my wings and..." I licked my lips and used the heel of my palm to wipe away the tears. "You know what? This is stupid. I'm going to my room."

"Jarvis, seal all the doors to the lab." As I reached for the door, it clicked and I turned and glared at Tony.

"Unlock it."

"Once she found out about your wings, what did she do?" growled Tony, setting the hammer down. "Emily Salgado. Answer me."

"She cut them off!" I screeched, turning to him. My wings were fully emerged and they were arched angrily. I was panting and more tears were in my eyes. "Every single week, sometimes every day, I feel her using a knife, a saw, _her freaking hands_ to tear about my wings. Sometimes, she doesn't even do that." Wearily, I murmured, "Why have a freak for a daughter when you can have no daughter instead?"

"She killed you?" gasped Tony, narrowing his eyes in disbelief.

"Why does it surprise you?" I hissed, taking a deep breath. "She already cut me and hit me. Why not kill me and get it over with?"

 **:/:\:**

[Bucky's POV]

I stood, speechless, my ear pressed up to the lab's door.

Emily was abused?

My Emily, the one who treated me like how I wanted every person in the world to...she was attacked by the woman she called a mother?

I knocked on the door, and I heard some unladylike cursing from the other side. The latch clicked open and I gently pushed it forward, revealing a tear-stained faced Emily and a pissed off looking Tony.

"How much of that did you hear?" Emily demanded, stalking over to me. She jabbed me in the chest accusingly. "Tell me."

"Just the last part," I whispered quietly. The silence was overwhelming. Emily just stood there, looking like she couldn't decide whether or not to kill me or to cry. "It's my turn to grab takeout and I was wondering if you wanted to tag along?"

"Do you two need a chaperone?" Tony asked, raising an eyebrow. I rolled my eyes. Back to his sarcastic self. Nothing like the man I had just heard earlier. "Well, have fun."

"You and Wanda," Emily said, rolling her eyes. "What is this? An official Emily-Bucky fan club?"

"There's a Winterlace fan club and nobody told me?" Natasha gasped, suddenly emerging from behind Bucky. Emily jumped but Bucky just sidestepped to allow the redhead into the room. "I want to be a founder of this fan club."

"Winterlace?" I said slowly, pronouncing each syllable.

"You know, Winter Soldier and Solace," said Natasha, sticking her tongue out at Emily and I. Emily and I looked at each other in confusion.

"Who's Solace?" she asked hesitantly.

"You are, silly," Tony said, giving Natasha a 'can-you-believe-her?' look. "Figuring all the junk you've had to go through, we decided that Solace was the perfect hero name for you."

"Solace," Emily whispered, clicking her tongue. "I like it. Sounds better than _Iron Man_." She grabbed my hand and dragged me out of the room while Tony yelled at us how prestigious his name was.

* * *

 **A/N: Hey everybody! Man, I am dishing out chapters faster than you can say "Winterlace" (that's a lie).**

 **Soooooo...how was it? I feel like it's a little rushed, but that could just be me.**

 **Anonymous: I read your comment and started laughing so hard. Like, retarded seal silent clapping kind of laughing. Now you can understand by reading this chapter why.**

 **What do y'all think of the name, Solace? And, better yet, the ship WINTERLACE!**

 **Please leave any comment, questions, concerns, or conspiracy theories. Also, some of you have been mentioning (very briefly) how I put Loki as a main character and yet he hasn't shown up in the story yet. I beseech thee for thy patience. The best is yet to come.**

 **Also, poll is up! Please take a look and vote on it!**


	20. Chapter 20

_**Chapter 20**_

[Emily's POV]

I rubbed my wrists awkwardly as I stood in the middle of the hanger. Wanda and Natasha spent the whole entire day decorating it to go along with their theme 'Midnight Madness'. The whole evening was black-tie formal, and Natasha even convinced Clint to let me go out shopping with her and Wanda to get a new gown. Now, decked out in a black Grecian halter chiffon gown that Natasha somehow managed to find in my size and a pair of black satin Bettie Knot heels that Wanda found for fifteen bucks, I was patiently awaiting for my guests.

"Against my better judgement, I decided to listen to Tony and I invited my mother, telling her that there was something I needed to tell her. Something important. I also invited Lizzy along, because what the heck?

A warm hand rested on the small of my back and I instantly tensed up. I relaxed once I realized it was just Bucky.

Now, I usually don't fangirl over guys and stuff (I feel that's just way too stereotypical), but dang, that boy from the 1940s could clean up nicely.

He had on a plain black button-up dress shirt with a sparkling white tie and black slacks to match.

What surprised me even more was that his hair was cut!

"You cut your hair?" I gasped, turning to face him. He chuckled and smirked.

"Regretting you never ran your hands through it?" he teased, and I snorted.

"Remember, the swoon's going to happen soon," I warned him. "Just you wait." He grinned and I leaned into his chest, subconsciously wrapping my arm around his waist. "Do you think I did the right thing?"

"Inviting your mother so you can tell her the truth?" Bucky asked, and I nodded. "For sure. You need to do this and she needs to hear this."

"I know, but..." I began, when somebody accidentally bumped into me. If it hadn't been for Bucky, I would've ended up on the floor. I stumbled a few steps and Bucky steadied me. I turned to confront the person and reeled backwards.

Something about this man I recognized. He looked like an exact replica of my father, same hair color and build and everything, but there was a darker look in this man's eyes.

"I apologize, my fine lady," the man said, bowing slightly. "I was too captured by the radiance of your beauty to pay attention to where I was walking."

"It's alright," I said, waving him off. Bucky's grip on me tensed up and he said stiffly, "Move along, Loki." In confusion, I watched as something malicious passed through the man's eyes before he stiffly walked away.

"Bucky...who was that?" I asked, looking up at him innocently.

"Thor's adopted brother," Bucky explained as he steered me away from Loki. "Loki, the God of Mischief. He was the one who started New York." I tensed up and glared at the man who had his back to us.

"Hope I never have to see him again," I grumbled angrily.

"Emily?"

My mouth opened in surprise as I turned towards the entrance. Decked out in the most gorgeous red gown I've ever seen was my best friend.

"Lizzy!" I squealed, rushing away from Bucky, who was watching with me amusement. We threw our arms around each other and I squeezed her tight. "You came!"

"Of course, silly!" she laughed, pulling away. Her red hair was straightened (how she did that, I have no idea), and pulled into a high ponytail. The red of her dress complimented her hair perfectly. "I almost brought Devon, but then decided against it."

"Smart move," I told her. "Oh!" I moved to frantically wave Bucky over, only to be surprised to see him behind me. "Bucky! This is Lizzy, my best friend ever!"

"I thought I was your best friend?" he asked me dramatically. "You can only have one best friend!"

"Bucky..." I said, my voice low. He rolled his eyes and gently tapped me on the chin with his fist.

"I'm kidding," he laughed. He held his hand out to Lizzy. "Bucky Barnes."

"Lizzy Brenton," she replied, shaking his hand firmly. "Oh, and Emily...ETA one minute." I gulped and nodded.

"Who's coming in one minute?" Bucky asked, not picking up on the unspoken convo Lizzy and I shared.

"My mother," I replied.

Then, she turned the corner.

I froze.

Everyone always said that I had her hair. Hers was dotted with gray hairs, but I used to think she was the most beautiful woman in the world. She surprisingly wore a beautiful dark blue dress that stopped at her knees. She had blue flats on (that suspiciously looked like mine that I thought I lost when I was sixteen) and her hair was put up in the same way that mine was, a French braid hairnet.

"Emily," she breathed, and I took a deep breath.

"Hi Mom."

 **:/:\:**

[Bucky's POV]

Emily hesitantly approached her mother and the two embraced.

"This is very posh for a finishing school," she commented randomly. She stopped when she noticed me. Her eyes narrowed and she scanned me. "Emily, darling, who is this?" Emily gulped and took a step back so she could assess the situation.

"This is..." she began, biting her lower lip. I had to agree with her. I didn't really know where to gauge our relationship.

"My name is James Barnes, ma'am," I said, taking a step forward. I held my hand out and she took it, shaking it daintily. "I'm a friend of Emily's." She looked between me and Emily and murmured something that sounded like, "Looks like more than a friend." She smiled brightly. "My name is Charolotte."

"A beautiful name," I commented, and the woman blushed. I gagged slightly but covered it up with a smile. No matter how charming she tried to appear, Charolotte would forever be a shadow in my eyes. She purposefully hurt Emily. I was never going to let her hurt her again. "Emily, Charolotte, Lizzy, would any of you like refreshments?"

"I would kill for some Diet Coke," Lizzy said, and Emily nodded, seconding it.

"Water will fine, James," Charolotte said, turning back to Emily.

 **:/:\:**

[Emily's POV]

 _Showtime, Emily,_ I thought nervously to myself.

"Mom, there's something I need to tell you," I began, licking my lips.

"Emily, I already now," my mother interrupted, and I froze. How did she know? I never told her, made sure to keep my powers hidden from her. "It's quite obviously."

 _NO, NO, NO, NO, NO!_

"You are in love with James."

I balked and could feel myself almost about to dry-heave.

"B-Bucky?" I stammered. "Y-You think I'm in love with Bucky?"

"It's plain to see," she continued, ignoring my comments. "He's a lovely man, very kind and courteous. You could do well with a man like that."

"Mom, that's not what I wanted to talk to you about," I began, looking towards Lizzy for help. She had the same frantic look on. "Listen, there's something I've been keeping from you..."

"Have you and James made it official?" she asked. "He asked you out, didn't he? I know this wonderful little restaurant..."

"I'm a mutant!"

Time stood still and my mother looked at me with pure confusion.

"E-Excuse me?" she stammered, taking a few steps backwards. "You're a what?" I bit my lip and brought my wings out. They spread out dramatically and my mother gasped before they folded neatly behind my back. "Emily Miriyan Salgado...start explaining right this instant!"

"This isn't a finishing school," I stated, rushing my words. "This is a program to join the Avengers."

"H-How long have you had t-these monstrosities on your back?" Mom demanded, and I took a few steps back.

"Please, I wanted to tell you..."

"Emily Miriyan Salgado, how freaking long?"

"Six years!" I screamed, my dress clenched tightly in my curled up hands. I took a deep breath to calm myself and added weakly, "They came the night we learned Dad died. Mom, I know this is a lot to take in, but there is somewhere we can talk this out..."

White hot pain raced across my face and I fell to the floor, cradling my cheek. Lizzy gasped and fell to her knees beside me. I turned to my mother and saw her approaching me, a dangerous look in her eyes. In just one second, I relived every single time she looked at me like that, every single time before she hit me.

"You know what they did to your father!" she growled, her heels clicking as she approached us. I began to back-crawl away, fear racing into my eyes. "They caused the New York Massacre and yet, you are training to become one!"

"Dad would've wanted me to!" I protested, leaping to my feet. I held a hand to my chest and used the other to push Lizzy away. I didn't want her getting caught up in this. "He always told me to be myself and to follow..." I was cut off by another slap. I heard Bucky shouting from across the room, but when I turned to looked at him, Steve was holding him back. I knew what he was doing. I need to sort this out myself.

But before I could think, my mother let out a blood-curdling scream and launched herself at me. People screamed and shoved people out of the way as my mother pinned me to the ground, using her long nails to scratch at my chest and face. I squirmed underneath her and felt myself going blank.

When I could focus again, I was standing and half of my mother's hair was gone. I looked down at my fists and noticed my Wolverine claws were emerged. I quickly sheathed them and held my hands close to my chest.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry..." I began, just as she came at me again. This time, my wings were ready. They gave a quick flap and darted me out of the way. However, she flipped around and somehow held a butter knife in her hand. It caught on my cheek and made a deep, thin line across my face. I cried out in pain and backed away fearfully. I bumped into one of the dining tables and I was shaking with fear. "Please...Mommy...please stop!"

"You are no daughter of mine!" she hissed, pinning me to the table with her weight. Everyone now seemed to realize what she was trying to do.

Steve let Bucky go and he raced over to my side, but the damage was done. By the time he ripped that crazed woman off of me, I sank to my knees, sobbing. In the hands of my mother was severely of my flight feathers. My wings looked broken and bare without the essential feathers and I cried out at the thought of not being able to fly again.

When I looked up, all I saw was the disappointment in Bucky's eyes. I stumbled to my feet and pushed past Bucky, who tried to grab me. I raced out of the hanger and made my way to the elevator, the only isolated place in the whole compound.

Once inside, I sank to my knees and sobbed, pulling my knees up to my chest.

"You know, I've never really known what to do when women cry," a voice suddenly said. My head flung up and I instantly recognized Loki, the man whom Bucky told me to steer clear from. "Just seems rather ridiculous if you ask me."

"I didn't," I spat, then I covered my mouth with my hands. "I'm sorry...I'm not really myself tonight."

"But still beautiful, nonetheless," Loki commented, and I raised my eyebrow. "What?"

"Seriously?" I sniffed, wiping my nose with my hand. "Hitting on a girl who was basically disowned and brutally assaulted by her mother?"

"Can't blame a man for trying," he replied with ease, leaning against the wall. "You should get out of this blasted contraption. Your friends are looking for you." I nodded and stood up on shaky legs. When I turned back to ask him how did I look, but he was already gone.

Taking in a shaky breath, I opened the doors and stepped out, ready to greet my friends.

* * *

 **A/N: Dang, I am on a rollllll!**

 **Hope y'all enjoyed this chapter. I had a toooon of fun writing it.**

 **Please leave any comments, questions, concerns, or conspiracy theories y'all may have.**

 **As of tradition I started with the last chapter, I am dedicating Chapter 20 to FanGirlForever19 (I think I spelled it right. Yeah, I'm pretty sure I did) and the Anonymous reviewer. Thank you two for all of your comments. They really make my day!**

 **Keep on answering the poll and Chapter 21 will hopefully be up soon!**


	21. Chapter 21

_**Chapter 21**_

[Emily's POV]

As soon as I stepped out of the elevator, I was quickly wrapped up in a pair of strong arms. The feeling to melt into the person's arms was overwhelming, so melt into them I did.

Bucky took a step back and brushed some hair out of my face that was falling down. "Emily, are you okay?"

"I-I'm fine," I stammered, gulping down some air. "Just a little shaken up." I looked around Bucky and was surprised to find none of the other Avengers. "Where is everybody?"

"I managed to beat them back with a stick and told them you probably would like only a few people at a time," he whispered, and I smiled thankfully. "So, I know you really don't want to talk about this, but..."

"Bucky, please," I squeaked, looking around. "Where is she?" His beautiful smile melted away into a thin, sharp line. "Bucky...where is my mother?"

"Steve and Thor escorted her to a room where she'll be staying until it's time for her plane," Bucky stated, not at all giving any hints to where the room might be. "Emily, I know what you are thinking. I'm not letting you go see her again. She tried to kill you!"

"She was upset and confused," I defended. "She needed to know the truth and she overreacted." Bucky raised his arm to stroke my face, and suddenly, I felt the air leave my lungs. I was overwhelmed with memories of my mother raising her arm, ready to hit me. I squeaked and fell to the floor, backing away from Bucky. He paused and a look of hurt passed over his eyes.

"Em..." he whispered, looking at me with the most pained expression ever. "W-What's wrong?"

"Don't hit me."

Bucky looked like I had slapped him.

"What did you say?" he demanded.

"Please don't hit me," I moaned, pulling my knees up to my chest. I subconsciously began rocking myself. "I-I don't want this anymore, p-please..."

"Emily," Bucky said, falling to his knees. "Emily...I'm not going to hurt you." He slowly began to crawl to me and I shivered with fear. "No one is ever going to hurt you again. I promise."

 **:/:\:**

[Bucky's POV]

I had to convince Clint to escort Emily back to her room. She refused to have anyone touch her besides Clint.

"A father figure," Steve subconsciously whispered, and me and Tony, who happened to be by my best friend, turned to face Steve. The blond was leaning against the wall, realization dawning on his face. "Emily is only allowing the people she considers to be a fatherly figure in her life to help her. Her father used to calm her mother's temper."

"These are the times when I want to punch Reindeer Games in the face," grumbled Tony, wringing his hands angrily. "So KGB and Mr. USA, what are we going to do about Discord?" Steve and I looked at each other with confusion before turning back to Tony. "What? Emily's name is Solace, so I figured the best thing we could do is call her deranged, maniac mother Discord."

"We keep her hidden away from Emily until her plane back to Ohio," Steve ordered. "We are not letting that monster anywhere near her."

"That'll be easy," I murmured to myself, turning to see where Emily and Clint had walked off. "She won't let anyone near her."

"Go check up on her, Buck," Steve said, and I turned back to him.

"I can't. She won't let anyone near."

"Yeah, and you're Bucky Barnes. Take Lizzy with you. That might help."

I nodded before heading back down towards the hanger, where everyone was cleaning up the party supplies. Emily's redheaded friend was balancing two plates of cookies on her hands when she spotted me. She immediately set them down and came stomping over to me.

"Where is she?"

"In her room," I began, and Lizzy pushed past me, stomping her way to the stairs. "Lizzy! She's an emotional wreck right now. She's not letting anyone near her."

"Listen up, _James_ ," seethed Lizzy, flipping around to face me. "I was eleven years old when Emily's father went MIA. I was eleven years old when Emily came through my window, her back in shreds because her mother had hit her for the first time. I was twelve when Emily showed up to my house and told me to follow her to my backyard, where she revealed to me that, in the middle of the night, she grew a pair of wings. I was thirteen years old as I watched her leave Ohio, the USA even, to move to a school where she could finally be safe. I was fifteen years old when I watched her return, too nervous to look over her own shoulder. I was fifteen when the beatings started up again. I was seventeen when I watched her go and follow her dreams. I am seventeen and I've seen her talk about you guys as if you were the world to her. She ranted about how strong you all were. And you know what? I believed her. But, now that I've seen it for myself, you guys are just weaklings. You couldn't even take care of Emily when her mother was trying to _murder her_. That's right. Not kill. _Murder_. So, I apologize, Mr. Barnes, if I am not going to believe you when she says she won't let anyone near her right now. Because I've been near her, and I will continue to be near her no matter what."

With that, Lizzy flipped around and stalked off, leaving me standing in a daze.

* * *

 **A/N: Hey everyone. Yeah, I know this chapter is really short compared to the last one, but I honestly couldn't think of anything to right that would be as good as Lizzy's rant, so I just had to end it like that.**

 **Gwendolyn Yuki: I do exactly the same. If the story is like, 53 chapters, I'm too into it to actually stop and comment XD. Thank you so much for you comment!**

 **Anonymous-Sarah: Thank you! I never thought I would get this many chapters down. In all honesty, I've re-written this story 3 times before I finally decide to merge the first and third attempt into a story. Two Anonymous? Yikes. Well, even if you two are different people, Chapter 20 is dedicated to you both!**

 **FanGirlForever19: No prob! Chapter 20 is actually my fav chapter so far. I just had to sneak Loki in. You'll be seeing more of him soon.**

 **Guest: I laughed so hard when I read your post XD. Even though this story is rated T, I'm trying to make it as universal as I can so everyone can read it without feeling uncomfortable. So, there might be a few kisses exchanged between Bucky and Emily (eventually, I mean, if they can get their relationship in order), but probably no hardcore making out scenes :)**

 **Remember y'all, the poll is still open! Go to my profile to see more details.**

 **Also, another call out, if anyone is good at fanart or that type of stuff, please, I beseech thee to use your powers for good and come up with an idea for Solace's Wings. The only perimeter is that is has to have Bucky and Emily on it. Who do I face-claim as Emily? Anyone you guys believe looks like her description!**

 **Please feel free to leave a review. Comments, questions, concerns, or conspiracy theories are always welcomed.**


	22. Chapter 22

_**Chapter 22**_

[Emily's POV]

I wouldn't let anyone in. I couldn't. Everyone's movement reminded me of _her_. Bucky was right. I couldn't face her again. I couldn't face anyone right now.

There was a light knock on my door. "Hey, you beautiful mess, you. Can I speak with the parrot of the ship?"

I laughed and had to let Lizzy into the room. As she shut the door behind her, I managed to catch a glimpse of Bucky's face. He seemed shocked and surprised.

"How bad is it?" Lizzy whispered, both of us knowing full well that Bucky was listening through the door. I sighed.

"Pretty bad," I whispered. "Clint's the only one I can handle for some reason, and it sucks." Loudly, I added, "I miss a certain 1940s war veteran!"

"We saw each other like twelve minutes ago," he called back through the door. "And we're talking right now." He paused, then quietly added, "Parrot of the ship?" Lizzy and I made eye contact before we burst into fits of giggles and laughter. In between spurts of those, we explained the story to Bucky, who silently listened to it all. "Y-You...Like...I can't even compute how weird and stupid you two are."

"And yet you love me anyways," I retorted gently, and I could tell he was smiling. I grinned before turning to see a sly grin on Lizzy's face. _Oh no...I know that look_. "Hey Bucky, could you give me and Lizzy a little while to talk...in private?"

"If you two are having a girl's talk, I'm out of here," he joked, and we heard him walking away.

I turned to Lizzy and folded my arms. "What's with that smile?"

"You and Bucky," she laughed, pushing her glasses up on her nose. I froze, my mouth dropping open.

"M-Me and Bucky?" I whispered, shaking my head. "No, no, no...we aren't...I mean, I don't think we are..."

"But do you want it?" Lizzy muttered, and I looked down at my feet, unable to come up with a response.

 _Do I want it...?_ I thought awkwardly to myself. _I mean, Bucky is an amazing friend, and he's adorable, and sweet, and loving, and funny..._ I paused and groaned, shoving my face into a pillow. _Oh my gosh...I do!_

"I'll take that as a yes...?" Lizzy trailed off, raising an eyebrow at me. She laid down next to me and nudged me with her hand. "Come on, Em. It's easier to admit things out loud. Repeat after me: I, Emily Salgado, am in love with Bucky Barnes."

"I, Emily Salgado, am really in love with Bucky Barnes and I'm scared..."

 **:/:\:**

[Bucky's POV]

I laid spread-eagle on my bed, staring up at the ceiling. My heart felt like it had just finished the Olympics. _What's wrong with me?_ I moaned, flipping over onto my side. _Why do I feel so...not me?_

"Buck, something the matter?" Steve interrupted my train of thought. He was wearing his workout gear and seemed slightly annoyed I wasn't in mine too. "Come on; we train every single night, remember?"

"Yeah, yeah," I said, waving him off. "I'll be there in a second." Steve remained where he was and narrowed his eyes.

"You're in love with Emily."

I sat up, ram-rod straight, and glared at Steve. "What. Did. You. Say?"

"You're in love with Emily," Steve said, rolling his eyes. "Come on, you don't think it's obvious? I mean, the little glances you two throw at each other when you think the other isn't looking, how comfortable she was at the party with you, the way you went to try and defend her...you are head over heels for that doll."

I paused and looked at Steve with terrified eyes.

"I-I can't..." I gulped, shaking my head. My chest began to tightened up, and I gripped onto my sheets with white knuckles. "No, n-no...this can't be happening..."

I felt a soothing presence wash over me and quietly murmured a thank you to Wanda, who flicked her hands as she walked in.

"You can't let anyone that close, can you?" Wanda asked, her accent still as crisp as ever as she took a seat beside me. I nodded, taking a deep breath. "Have you ever had a panic attack like this before?"

"No one's tried to get this close to me before," I replied back to Wanda, wiping my brow with my hand. "I-I really like Emily, I swear I do! But...what if I go under and I attack her again? I can't let her get killed because of me."

"Let's pretend for a second that the Winter Soldier doesn't exist," Steve said, striding over to my bedside. "You're just James Buchanan Barnes, and I'm just Steven Grant Rogers, and this is just Wanda..." He trailed off and raised an eyebrow at Wanda.

"Elizabeth."

"And this is just Wanda Elizabeth Maximoff," Steve finished. "Just a couple of friends hanging out. Would you, _James_ , say that you are in love with Emily Salgado?"

"If the Winter Soldier didn't exist," I began, shivering slightly. "Then yes, I would say it: I am in love with Emily Salgado."

I abruptly stood up, turning my back to the two of them. "But he does, so there is no way for there to be an _us_. I'll see you down in the gym."

And with that, I walked out of my room.

* * *

 **A/N: Ahhh! The angsty teenagerness radiating off the two of them! :)**

 **Hey everybody! So, tada! Another chapter, another hole in my belt. What'd ya guys think? Don't worry. More Emily/Bucky fluff to come :) And there will be more Discord in there.**

 **AHHH! OVER 50 FOLLOWERS?! You guys make my life happy. And thanks for the almost over 9,500 views! Y'all don't understand how much it means to me that my story is getting this much rep :)**

 **On another note, I am curious: who do you face-claim as Emily (you know, like when you read the story, who do you picture as Emily?)?**

 **You all know the drill by now (if you are reading these A/Ns): please leave a comment, question, concern, or a conspiracy theory :) Enjoy the chapter and have a great Thanksgiving!**


	23. Chapter 23

**_Chapter 23_**

[Emily's POV]

I woke up in the middle of the night with a horrible, aching feeling in my stomach. I moaned and rolled over to my other side, but that just made it worse. I rolled up my shirt so my stomach was exposed to the cool, night air. That brought some relief, but not much. I took a deep breath and suddenly felt a strong response begin to happen.

I leapt out of my bed and raced to my bathroom, sliding to a halt in front of my toilet. In one more shudder, I was vomiting all of last night's dinner. I shook hard and knew I looked like a pasty-faced monster. I slid to the floor and curled up in the fetal position.

 _The floor is nice and cold,_ I thought to myself. _Emily likes nice cold floor. Emily doesn't want to move._ Another shudder wracked my body and I groaned, shivering hard. _Someone please help..._

I laid there for what seemed like hours before I could find the strength to flush the toilet, wash my face off, and crawl back towards my bed. Once there, I curled up back in the fetal position.

Suddenly, a wave of cold washed over me and I shrieked, ducking underneath my covers. Goosebumps laced my arms and it hurt to just breathe.

There was a light knocking on my door, and I heard someone whisper, "Emily? Are you alright?"

I didn't want to answer. It hurt too much to do so.

I ducked my head under my covers and brought my knees up next to my chest to conserve body heat. The door creaked open and I could hear someone shuffling along the floor. The covers rolled back a bit and I hissed, ducking even further.

"Emily...why are you hiding underneath the covers?"

"Cold," I stuttered. "V-Very, very c-cold."

The person was silent for a moment before completely yanking all my blankets off my bed. I screamed with annoyance and lunged to grab them, but someone wrapped their arms around my stomach, squeezing ever so slightly.

Bad mistake.

Immediately, I felt the shudder and was able to disconnect myself from the person before I narrowly made it back into the bathroom and vomited once more.

"Oh Emily..." the voice whispered. They strode into my bathroom and flicked the lights on.

"Why...are...you...here?" I panted, leaning my head against the tub.

Loki raised an eyebrow at me before grabbing a nearby towel and turning the sink on.

"I was getting what you Midgardians call a 'midnight snack' when I heard you screaming. I figured I might as well see what was happening," Loki coolly responded. "Now, sit still." He flushed the toilet again and began to wipe all the icky stuff off my face. He placed a hand on my forehead and I _purred_ when I realized how nice and cold it was. "You're running a fever." He washed the towel once he was done and laid it out to dry. "Get undressed and take a shower. The warm water will help relax your muscles and make you feel better. I shall grab a nice, warm towel for you to use once you exit."

"If you think that you will be helping me then, you are wrongfully mistaken," I spat, wincing as my stomach clenched up.

"Please, you already rejected my advances once, I shant waste my time again," Loki growled, rolling his eyes. "I will fetch the Scarlet Witch or the Black Widow. Either one will please you?" I nodded and he walked off, closing the bathroom door behind him.

After five minutes of waiting for my stomach to calm down, I slowly undressed myself and slipped into the shower, asking Jarvis to automatically turn on the water.

Loki was right. Just lying down in the shower as the hot water pounded my skin felt fantastic. I stayed there until someone knocked on the door. I flicked the shower off and used my magic to open the door for them.

"Emily! Are you alright?" Natasha asked from behind the curtain. I nodded, and when I realized she couldn't see, sheepishly added, "Yeah, I-I'm good. Not feeling too hot though."

"Loki's waiting in your room. Refused to leave, saying he was your 'healer' or whatever that was about," Natasha remarked, rubbing her eyes. She shut the door behind her and said, "But he does know how to pick nice towels. I grabbed you some clothes to put on once you're nice and dry."

"O-Ok."

With Natasha's help (and twenty minutes of time), I was able to dry off completely and slip into a loose, baggy men's t-shirt and sweatpants that fit me perfectly. She led me out and laid me down on my bed, pulling the covers up to my chin.

"I'm going to go get Clint," she said quietly, pushing any loose hair out of my face. "He'll want to know. In that time, I'm leaving you in charge of Loki. Also, don't push these covers down. The hotter you are, the faster your fever will break."

"Yes, ma'am," I whispered back, and she laughed.

"Atta, girl," she smiled before walking off. I did notice she sent a glare at Loki, who was lounging around on the floor by my bathroom door.

After a moment of silence, I asked, "What is a healer?"

Loki looked at me with confusion until I further explained, "Natasha said I was in charge. I can talk to you if I want to. So, answer me: what is a healer?"

"On Asgard, healers are the equivalent to your Midgardian 'doctors'," Loki said, crossing his arms across his chest. "They use their magic to help the conditions of their patients."

"Can you do that for me?" I asked, and he raised an eyebrow, shaking his head sadly.

"When I was forced to come to that blasted party, your 'Avengers' took precautions," he said, holding up his hands. I noticed in the soft, squishy piece of skin between his thumbs and forefingers, was a small, black lump. "These pieces of the Man of Iron's technology prevent me from using any kind of magic."

The door flung itself open and Clint stormed in, his eyes ablaze with worry.

"Emily!" he gasped, rushing to my side. He placed a hand on my forehead and almost 'melted'. "You're burning up."

"As I've figured out," I snarked, and his lips formed a thin line. "Sorry, sarcasm is strongest in me when I'm uncomfortable."

"I grabbed you medicine," Natasha said, handing me pills and a tall glass of water. "You want to drink that in sips. It'll upset your stomach even more otherwise."

"Thank you," I said, nodding to each of them (despite the pain). I took the pills with the water and then set it down on my bedside table. "C-Can I try and go to s-sleep?"

"It would be wise to do so, yes," Loki answered before Clint or Natasha could. "Sleep, while it will be difficult to achieve, will help dampen the side affects of your sickness." I whispered a thank you to him before snuggling up in my covers as best as I could, and falling asleep.

 **:/:\:**

[Clint's POV]

I flipped around and glared at Loki, motioning for him to walk out of the room with Natasha and me. He obediently followed and once we were outside of her room, I jabbed a finger into his chest.

"Alright, start talking," I growled. "Why were you in Emily's room?"

"I was grabbing a snack and heard her cry out," Loki said, his face calm. "I decided I might as well help. Nothing eventful happens here, except with Discord."

"You do not have authorization to see her one-on-one," Natasha spat, folding her arms across her chest. She cocked her hip out and narrowed her eyes at Loki. "You have no right."

"I have every right, and you know it!" growled Loki, raising his voice for the first time since he arrived. "I have every right to see someone who was a light unto my life; someone who made me a better man!" He was silent for a moment, before adding, "You will see here, the Black Widow and the Hawk's Eye...neither of you, nor your pretty little Avengers, will stop me from seeing Emily Salgado. None of you."

With that, I properly punched him in the face and with Natasha, dragged him off.

* * *

 **A/N: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Over 10,000 views! Guys, you have really made my week, despite the really bad one I had.**

 **Why did I write an Sick!Emily fanfic? Well...tbh, I've been pretty sick this past week. It started on Thanksgiving, which made me only be able to have a King Hawaiian Roll for Thanksgiving dinner (great, right?), and now, today, so four days. I've been weak, feverish, vomiting, and diarrhea. I used how I felt and placed this in with Emily.**

 **So...what do you guys think Loki meant by** **he has every right to see Emily and they (Clint and Nat) know it?**

 **Please, leave any comment, questions, concerns, or conspiracy theories y'all may have. (Start listening to that wonderful Christmas music as well!)**

 **Have a great Sunday!**

 **BecomingFearless1F**


	24. Chapter 24

_**Chapter 24**_

[Bucky's POV]

I stood in the corner with my arms folded across my chest, my eyes narrowed at the crazy woman who sat opposite of Clint and Natasha.

Charolotte Faether (pronounced Fay-ether) Salgado. The abusive mother of Emily Salgado, the widow to Luke Salgado. Fondly known as Discord (dubbed by Tony).

Charolotte fiddled with the chains that attached her to the table and did not seem at all interested in talking to Clint and Natasha. I could tell that Clint was getting more and more irritated, while Natasha kept a calm facade. Finally, when it looked like Clint was about to crack, Charolotte looked up and I shivered.

The resemblance between mother and daughter was scary.

"I will only talk to three people in this building," she hissed, and even Natasha backed up her chair. "First off, the Prince of Lies. Secondly, my daughter. Third, him." She turned and pointed straight towards me. "I will only cooperate with them." With that, she leaned back in her chair. The master assassins stopped for a moment before looking at each other, having a silent conversation. Quietly, Natasha beckoned for me to take her place.

"I'm grabbing Loki," she said. "Maybe we can kill two birds with one stone."

I nodded and took a seat.

"What about my daughter?" Charolotte demanded, folding her arms as much as she could while she was handcuffed.

"She's unable to be here," I smoothly said. It wasn't technically a lie. Emily was still feeling horrible in her bedroom. The fever had left, but she was still weak. "So, you're stuck with me and Loki."

"Men," Charolotte sniffed, rolling her eyes. "At least the woman's tolerable."

I slammed my fist on the metal table, leaving a dent. She didn't even flinch.

"You are the one who was willing to cooperate with me. You. Now, talk," I growled. "Why do you hate Emily?"

"Don't even say her name," Charolotte hissed. "I never wanted to have kids. Her father did." I opened my mouth to ask what she meant, but the door slowly creaked open, revealing Loki in a fitted, black suit. "Speak of the devil..."

"I'm sorry, but he was unable to attend. He asked me to come in his stead," Loki smoothly played off. Clint stood up and walked out, leaving Loki to take his place. "Hello, dear Charolotte."

"Loki," she spat, gritting her teeth. "A pleasure."

"Now, I hear you haven't been answering all the questions," Loki clicked his tongue disapprovingly. "Why are you being such a naughty girl?"

"Look here, God of Mischief and Lies," Charolotte practically yelled. "I am not going to be swayed by your silver-tongue. I demand to be released."

"You are a danger to everyone in this facility, including Emily," Loki fired back.

"Of course, always Emily," Charolotte grumbled, narrowing her eyes at Loki. "Always her, never me!"

I furrowed my eyebrows and glanced between Loki and Charolotte.

 _Ok...what the heck did I just miss_?

"Charolotte, I wouldn't have done what I did if I didn't love you!" Loki shouted, standing up. "You knew that! I told you every single night. And I heard what you said earlier about Emily. It's a lie. You were the one who wanted children. We had Emily and you threw away a perfect child for one who was firstborn!"

"Whoa, time out!" I yelled, standing up. "It might be because I'm from the 1940s, so that makes me old and I hear things, but did I just hear what I thought I heard?" Loki glared between me and Charolotte.

"Yes, Soldier of Winter. You heard correctly: I am Emily Salgado's father."

 **:/:\:**

[Clint's POV]

 _Ah heck no_.

I burst through the interrogation room's door and stalked over to Loki.

"You were under no authority to mention that!" I yelled, slugging him. Loki went down and Natasha had to come in and hold me back. "Nat, take him back to his room."

"Are we not going to talk about the fact that Emily's father is alive?" demanded Bucky, looking angrily at me and Loki and Charolotte...basically everyone in the room besides Nat. "And that her father is him?" He pointed an accusing finger at Loki. Charolotte, on the other hand, seemed amused.

"I just assumed you told them all," she smirked, and a small giggle pierced the silence. "Gosh, this is hilarious. How about we tell dear little old Emily?"

"Stay away from my daughter, you devil's spawn," growled Loki, rubbing his jaw. "One of these days, I will find you, and I will kill you for what you have put her through."

"Barnes, you're with me," I said, snapping my fingers. "Discord, you'll be staying here for the time being." With that, I roughly grabbed Bucky's arm and promptly dragged him out of the interrogation room. Once the door was closed, I slammed Bucky up against the wall.

"You will, under no circumstances, reveal to Emily that Loki is her father," I hissed, keeping my voice low so the nearby cameras couldn't hear us.

"And why wouldn't I?" he murmured, a deep fire of hatred in his eyes. "I won't let her go through anymore suffering."

"If we reveal that he's alive, and we knew, there is no speaking of what she might do."

"Which is exactly why we need to trust her to make the decision!" Bucky fired back. He paused and said, "Is there any more secrets I should know about the Salgado family?"

I shook my head. "That's all we knew."

"What did Loki mean by 'for one who was firstborn'?" Bucky asked, eyeing the camera nervously.

"For once, I have no idea."

* * *

 **A/N: Hey dude and dudettes. Sorry that this chapter is kind of...blaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand. I'm like, seriously running out of ideas again. The jar is empty. So PLEASE! If any of y'all have someone you'd like to see, leave a review and tell me. Your suggestions help; like really, they do.**

 **SPOILER! Congrats to FanGirlForever19 and Anonymous-Sarah for guessing correctly! Loki is in fact, Emily Salgado's father :) Did y'all like the build-up of that? If you read closely, you will notice that Emily's father name is Luke (Luke, Loki, ehh? ehh?) and that he speaks Norwegian (Norway was once where the Vikings lived, whose gods were the Norse gods, ehh? ehh?)**

 **Also, can I fangirl about a moment in my story? When Charolotte says, Speak of the devil, and Loki smoothly replies, He was unable to attend. He asked me to come in his stead. I could feel Loki's sarcasm coming out of the story.**

 **Please leave a comment, question, concern, or conspiracy theory. Also, leave any suggestions y'all may have on something you'd like to see :) Have a great end of the week!**


	25. Chapter 25

_**Chapter 25**_

[Emily's POV]

It was exactly midnight when I woke up to the gentle creaking of my door being opened. I threw off my blankets quickly and my Wolverine claws unsheathed themselves instinctively. I leapt towards the attacker, ready to strike them down if I needed to.

But they just stood there.

I blinked my eyes a few times before whispering, "Jarvis, manually turn on my lights please."

Bright yellow lights flickered on above me, revealing a disheveled looking Bucky wearing a pure white sleeping tank top, dark gray sweatpants, and the most terrified expression I had ever seen.

"Bucky?" I whispered, confused at his appearance. He never looked that...raggedy. I moved past him and gently shut the door. I turned around to ask him why he came to my room, but he enveloped me in a hug. I froze, not entirely sure what to do. Bucky was hugging me...like an actual hug, not side hug, nothing...

Carefully, I wrapped my arms around his stomach and held him tight. His shoulders began to jerk and I could hear him faintly crying. I shushed him gently and slowly rubbed his back. I lead him over to my bed and sat him down. I folded my legs up underneath me. He refused to meet my eyes, instead content staring down at his feet. As calmly as I could, I moved his head so he was facing me. His beautiful, clear blue eyes were foggy with tears and were rimmed with red.

"Bucky, what happened?" I muttered, brushing his hair back with my fingers. He sniffed and looked like he was trying to talk, but couldn't. "It's ok...you don't have to say anything."

He reached out and grabbed my hand, holding it as if it was his only lifeline into this world.

"Lie down," I said, motioning towards my bed. "I'll get you another blanket." I gently pushed him so he was lying down and untangled my fingers from his hand. I walked over to the small linen closet in my room and grabbed a spare blanket. Walking back, I gently threw it over Bucky. I then moved to the other side of the bed and snuggled back into my covers, my body angled towards Bucky. "Just try to get some rest, Bucky...promise?" Bucky nodded and I smiled before closing my eyes.

The bed shifted a little, and I could feel Bucky was right in front of me. He pressed his forehead against mine and threw an arm over my stomach. I gave another small smile before falling asleep in his warm embrace.

 **:/:\:**

[Wanda's POV]

"Emily! I brought you some..." I began, but my voice died out. Emily and Bucky were lying on her bed, each with a small smile on their sleeping faces. Bucky had an arm draped lazily over Emily and their foreheads were touching each other. I set down the food tray I was carrying and quickly ran to find Natasha and Tony. The master assassin and the billionaire were in an intense game of Gin when I found them.

"Natasha! Tony!" I hissed, trying to make sure I didn't wake up the sleeping couple. "Bucky and Emily are cuddling!"

"My ship!" Tony yelled, leaping to his feet. He knocked into the table, scattering cards everywhere. "Come!" We all raced off, sounding like a pack of hyenas. Once we got to Emily's doorway, we all stood there, smiling happily. Natasha and Tony whipped out their phones and took some professional pictures before walking away.

I grabbed the tray and tried to act like nothing out of the ordinary had happened. I walked over to Emily's side and placed the food on her bedside table. I sat down and leaned over, gently shaking her.

Emily grunted and cuddled closer to Bucky, and I couldn't resist but 'aw' a little. I shook her harder and she blinked her eyes wearily before rolling over, snuggling up in her blankets more.

"W-Wanda?" she stuttered, yawning. She stretched her arms out and jumped when she hit Bucky. "Oh my gosh..." Her face went as red as a tomato. "I swear, this isn't what it looks like..."

"I know," I laughed, and she narrowed her eyes at me. "I brought you breakfast. Considering you've had a pretty rough week."

"Thanks, Wanda," she said, holding her hands out greedily.

"You might want to wake the sleeping giant first," I teased, reaching over to poke Bucky's arm. The man grunted and dragged Emily closer to him, causing her to squeal and me to burst out laughing. The 40s man shivered before blinking his eyes. His eyes widened slowly as he assessed what position he and Emily were in. He let out a string of curses before shoving Emily away from him and jumping back.

"Wanda, you say anything to anybody..." Bucky threatened, draping an arm over his eyes.

"I won't," I said, miming zipping up my mouth. "Now, let the sleeping woman eat her breakfast." I grabbed Emily's breakfast and handed it to her. Instantly, Bucky was back at her side, stealing away a pancake and two pieces of bacon.

"Mine!" Emily hissed, shoving Bucky with her shoulder. Bucky rolled his eyes but ignored her, munching on his bacon happily. "Sometimes, I don't know why I put up with you."

"Because you love me," he teased, shoving the pancake into his mouth. Emily sarcastically mimicked him as she ate her pancake, and the duo seemed to forget I was sitting there.

Without warning, the alarm suddenly blared, bathing us all in a red light.

"What's that?" Bucky asked, leaping to his feet. He was instantly on alert. "Wanda, stay here with Emily. I'm going to grab my gun." I nodded and Bucky raced out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

"We're not really going to stay here, are we?" Emily asked hopefully. I shook my head in agreement and we stalked towards the door. Emily opened it with her magic and I peeked out. Nobody in the hallway.

"Clear," I whispered and we continued on, occasionally checking behind us to make sure Bucky wasn't there. We dashed down the stairs and came to the middle of the living room.

"That's weird..." Emily said, sniffing. "What's that smell?"

I took a small sniff and was overwhelmed by the smell of almonds.

"Almonds," I told her, raising an eyebrow in confusion. Emily shivered and her eyes widened.

"Steve's allergic to almonds though," she whispered.

"C-4!" I screamed just as the entire wall of the compound blew up.


	26. Chapter 26

_**Chapter 26**_

[Emily's POV]

 _Lights..._

 _Blinking lights..._

I saw a blurry face. The person was frantic, desperate even, that they were shaking me. I moaned and went to swat them away, but my arms felt like lead. Slowly, the face came into focus and I saw Clint. He had a long cut on his forehead, making half of his face red with blood.

"Emily!" he yelled, and this time I winced at the noise. "Come on. We can't stay down." He yanked me to my feet and a wave of nausea hit me. I clutched my stomach and moaned, but Clint was giving me no time to rest. He threw my arm over his shoulders and began to walk/drag me towards a door. "We have to get to the QuinJet."

"Wanda," I murmured, glancing back towards the room. "Where's..."

"Vision already got her out," Clint explained as he kicked the door open. It made a loud banging noise, almost like a gunshot. "Cap's called an immediate evac of everyone. Right now, all that's left is you, me, Cap, your mom, and Loki."

"B-Bu..."

"Bucky got hit with two bullets in the shoulder," Clint answered truthfully. "He'll live, but he was taken with Natasha and Tony to the China facility to get medical treatment." Now that we were walking, I could sense a dull pain in my ankle that was slowly getting sharper and sharper. I glanced down and let out a small gasp when I noticed something white sticking out of my ankle. "Yeah...I'm sorry, kid, but that'll hurt to put back in."

"Who attacked us?" I whispered as Clint bent over to pick me up bridle-style.

"We'll talk once we're in the QuinJet," he said, taking the stairs two at a time. "Until then, watch my six and make sure I don't get shot."

"Aye, aye, captain," I said sarcastically, giving him a tiny salute. I looked over his shoulder and flicked my magic out. It made a protective barrier around us and I smiled thankfully. _I'm getting better at this magic stuff_.

"Solace!" Steve yelled out, waving us over. A section of his suit's stomach was torn off, and he had a bloody hand pressed against some wound. "Hawkeye! This way!" He pointed to the open QuinJet, where Loki and my mother were waiting. My mother seemed unconscious, while Loki seemed in pain, but I couldn't see anything with the armor he was wearing. Clint bounded up the QuinJet door and Loki slammed a button, shutting the door.

"Get a stretcher!" ordered Clint, to which Loki obliged. Once it was up, Clint laid me down and went to the controls, flicking switches and pressing buttons until we were up in the air. "Can you heal her?"

"Not with these blasted seeds in my hands," Loki growled, giving a dirty eye to Steve. "I know how to set it though." He looked at me and grabbed my hand, squeezing it reassuringly. "It will hurt like Muspelheim reincarnated, but it needs to be done."

"Do it," I ordered, gritting my teeth.

 **:/:\:**

[Clint's POV]

I never heard a more truly anguished, gut-wrenching scream until Loki pushed Emily's bone back into her ankle. Steve had to rush over to safely secure her so she wouldn't claw Loki. Her wings had flared out and her cheeks were stained with fresh and old tears.

"Where are we headed?" Loki shouted, trying to be heard over his daughter's screams. "She needs more medical attention that I can give!"

"A safe place," I answered, trying to block Emily out and focus on flying.

"Now," Emily hissed from where she was lying on the stretcher. "Can someone tell me what the heck is going on!" I nodded, which I knew Steve couldn't see, but he must have sensed it because he began to tell the story.

"We don't have the full details," he sighed as he took a seat. "But from what we do know, it was a rogue group of mutants. It was pretty obvious what their agenda was."

"You," I whispered as the same time Emily muttered, "Me."

"Whether it was to kill you or simply kidnap you and use you, we don't know," Steve continued, ignoring Emily's and mine comment. "Right now, the Avengers are dissembled. Being together provides too big of a target."

"Sam and Sergeant Rhodes took two other QuinJets," I followed up. "We asked Wanda to make still-replicas of you in each of them so they aren't sure where you went."

"Where is everyone?" Emily whispered, hissing from pain. "Are they safe?"

"No lives were lost," Loki confirmed. "As for the rest of your team, I believe it is safe to assume that they will be safe."

"Good," she murmured, and I could tell she was getting delirious from the pain. "I'm going to nap now." And with that, she was out like a light. I put the ship on auto-pilot, double-checking to make sure the coordinates were still locked in, and then turned the seat around to face Steve and Loki. Charolotte was still unconscious, but she seemed to be in a lighter space of sleep.

"You certainly have an interesting family," I randomly commented, and I expected Loki to turn and glare at me. Instead, he rested a gentle hand on Emily's lower leg and brushed it with his thumb.

"As much as they are deranged and crazy, they are my girls," Loki said honestly. He turned to look back at Charolotte. "Everyday I wonder what I could have done in order to protect her from this darkness..."

"I think Barton and I are entitled to a backstory," Steve ordered, and Loki chuckled under his breath.

"It is a long one, Captain."

"We got the time."

 **:/:\:**

[Wanda's POV]

I woke up to the most horrified scream ever to exist on this planet. I gasped and involuntarily backed up, only to have my back hit a slimy, damp wall. I quickly surveyed my surroundings. My wrists were shackled and chained to the wall, along with my ankles. I was still wearing the clothes I went to bed in last night, my jean shorts and obsessively long sleeved sweatshirt. I was barefoot and there was an aching pain coming from my chest. I could faintly make out cell bars in front of me, just as a blinding light lit up my cell.

I slammed my eyes closed and huddled closer to myself, blinking rapidly in order to get my eyes readjusted.

" _Hello Wanda_."

I shivered and resisted the urge to vomit. I knew that voice. I killed that voice.

The outline of a man stepped forward. The light blocked his face from me, but I knew I would never forget that fiend.

He was the reason I was an only child.

"Ultron."

" _Shall we play a little game?_ "


	27. Chapter 27

_**Chapter 27**_

[Emily's POV]

 _There was a gentle humming noise; so soft and pleasant that I couldn't help but sway along. A distant voice laughed. It was beautiful, like bells ringing from a nearby church._

 _"Does she always act this way?" a voice asked. It was a woman's, and I could already tell that she was beautiful. Not just the earthly kind, but also emotionally and spiritually._

 _"I told you she's special," a new voice chuckled. This one was a man, and I recognized it. Someone who acted like a father to me. Clint. "I think she's coming to."_

I blinked my eyes and was happy to find the room was dark for a change. I was still dressed in my clothes from the compound, but a nice, homemade quilt was thrown over me. My bad ankle was wrapped protectively in a cast and propped up on two plush pillows. There were two people sitting on either side of my bed.

"Clint?" I breathed and he squeezed my hand.

"Hey, kid," he whispered back. "Welcome back to the land of the living."

"I never left," I responded and I turned to look at the woman on the other side of the bed. "Your wife?"

"Observant," she laughed. "I'm Laura. Clint's told me a lot about you." There was a hint of pity in her voice.

"The good and the bad, it would seem," I commented, glancing at Clint. He gave a sheepish shrug before I continued, "Where's the others?"

"Loki said he needed to do something, which I suspect will involve digging those 'seeds' out of his skin," Clint began. "Steve's out in the barn making a secure location for your mot...for Discord to stay."

"Discord...nice way of dehumanizing this grisly situation," I snorted, and Laura shot a glare to Clint. "What's the situation with the other teams?"

"I'm going to grab you some breakfast," Laura said suddenly, standing up. She walked out of the room quickly and I turned to look at Clint, a puzzled expression on my face.

"Cap issued a 'radio-silence' before we left," Clint explained tentatively. "We haven't been able to get in touch with the other teams. We were too concerned with making sure whoever is after you can't find you." I nodded slowly, absorbing the information. "But hey, right now, we focus on recovering, okay?"

"Okay," I whispered, smiling. "Your wife is amazing. How did you two meet?"

"I was an international spy for Shield who was issued to track this drug boss down in LA," Clint explained. "Found a reporter who was trying to bring the boss down, we worked together, and bingo-bongo-boomba, we hit it off."

"Yeah right," Laura interrupted, snorting. She flicked on the lights and I shook my head, my eyes rapidly adjusting. "I was a waitress at this New York diner. Clint came to get a sandwich and kept on coming back."

"That's more believable," I said, pointing towards Laura.

"Traitor," he grumbled to himself.

"Daddy..." a small voice interrupted. Clint turned around and I strained around him to see a small girl, maybe ten years old, clutching onto the sleeve of a fourteen year old boy. They both looked at me with wide, innocent eyes. The little girl continued, "We weren't sure if we could come say hi or not."

"What about Nate?" Laura asked, hands on her hips. The fourteen year old boy turned around to reveal a small toddler clinging to his leg. "Oh alright. I suppose you three rascals can say hello." The little girl clapped her hands excitedly before racing over to Clint, giving him a giant bear hug.

"I'm Lila!" the little girl said happily.

"I'm Cooper, ma'am," said the fourteen year old, and I couldn't help but snort a little. No one had ever called me 'ma'am' before. "The leech attached to my leg is Nathaniel, but we call him Nate."

"These are your kids?" I muttered, looking at Clint. He nodded proudly and I took a moment to take it all in. "Wow...they're beautiful." When he beamed with joy, I quickly added, "They must take after you, Laura."

Laura burst out laughing and Clint frowned, reaching forward and ruffling up my hair a bit. I giggled and I took a deep breath, ready to address the masses (of three Barton children).

"My name is Emily Salgado," I said, looking at each of the kids. "I'm a friend of your father. He's been acting like my dad for a while."

"Did your dad die?" Lila asked, and Laura hissed, "Lila!"

"It's fine," I dismissed her, waving her off. To Lila, I said, "Yeah, my dad died. You know how your daddy is a hero?" Lila nodded furiously. "My daddy was a cop. He was really brave. He fought alongside your dad to protect New York when those big aliens came down to hurt us."

"Really?" gasped Lila, her eyes wide with disbelief. "Daddy! Were you two friends?" Clint licked his lips and gulped, suddenly looking very awkward. I narrowed my eyes. Clint never was that awkward.

"Best friends," he finally managed to say, and Lila clapped her hands happily.

"Since she doesn't have a daddy, can you be her new daddy?" Lila demanded. "I want a sister!" I laughed and Cooper rolled his eyes at the antics of his little sister. Little did I realize that a small visitor had curled up beside me. "What is Nate doing?" I turned to look at the toddler and found him snuggled up to my side, his head on my lap.

"Nate's only done that to Nat and Wanda," Laura whispered, smiling at her little boy. "He's very shy around people. Those two girls were the only ones who could get him out of his shell."

"Wait..." I said, looking at Clint, my eyes wide. "Telepathy!"

"What?"

"Wanda and I," I said quickly as Laura ushered her kids out of the room. "We have a telepathic connection. It happened when she invaded my mind at the tower." Clint nodded for me to continue. "I can try and reach her! No one should be able to pick up on my location or my conversation."

"Give it a go," Clint encouraged me. I nodded and closed my eyes, taking a deep breath.

 _Wanda?_

There was silence, and I felt the faintest brush against my mind.

 _Wanda, it's Emily. Are you alright?_

 ** _D-Don't...come..._**

 _Wanda! Are you alright? Where are you?_

 ** _Ultron...he's alive...STAY AWAY!_**

I screamed as my head filled with mind-numbing pain. My hands flashed up to my skull and I began to rock myself, forcing myself to take deep breaths.

"Emily, are you alright?" demanded Clint, rubbing my forehead with the palm of his hand. "Emily?"

"Wanda," I gulped, licking my suddenly dry lips. "Something's wrong...I don't understand her message." I looked at him in the eyes. "Ultron's alive..."

 **:/:\:**

[Clint's POV]

My blood ran cold.

Ultron.

Sokovia.

 _Pietro_.

All the old memories flooded back in a storm and I clapped a hand over my mouth in order to keep from crying out.

How was he still alive? Wanda killed him. She told all of us when she rejoined us at the compound. She had yanked out that murderous thief's heart out, and Vision assured us that he killed the last of the Ultron bots. I brought my hand back down and clenched my hands. There was no way I was going to keep radio silent. I had to warn everyone.

"Are you listening to me?"

I turned back to Emily, who looked seriously annoyed. "I'll take that as a no, then."

"Give me the exact words that Wanda said," I ordered her, and she flinched a little.

"Don't come," she recited. "Ultron...he's alive...stay away." She rubbed her wrists awkwardly and added, "That's when I started to scream. She rushed me with all her powers, trying to overwhelm our connection so it would fizzle out."

"Stay here," I told her, standing up. I walked through the doorway, then paused, before looking back in, "I mean it, Emily."

"Yeah, yeah," she said, leaning back. "Can I at least get a book or something?"

I ignored her and went down the steps two at a time, ducking outside. Steve was walking back from the barn when I intercepted him.

"Ultron's alive."

Steve got a deer-in-the-headlights look, and he gripped his shield tighter.

"Are you sure?"

"Wanda's been compromised," I explained. "Emily and her apparently have a telepathic connection. She reached out to her, but the girl basically told Emily to butt out and that Ultron was alive."

"That must mean he also has Vision," Steve breathed, and I gulped, a sinking feeling my gut.

"What do you think his gameplan is?" I asked hesitantly. As much as I wanted to know, I was dreading the answer.

"Emily," Steve finished. "He knows what she can do."

"He's going to try and create Ragnarok."

I turned over my shoulder to see Loki finishing bandaging his hands. He had switched from his tux into a pair of sturdy boots, a red plaid shirt, and dark jeans.

"Ragnarok?" asked Steve, cocking his head.

"The end of all ends," Loki explained. "It has been tried once before by the Goddess of Death, Hela. If this 'Ultron' of yours is trying to use my daughter to create a Midgardian Ragnarok, he could end all the Nine Realms."

"Why are you suddenly on our side?" I accused him, suspicious. "You've never been helpful before."

"His wife and daughter weren't with us before," Steve gently reminded me. "He has an incentive to help us."

"Just the daughter part," Loki stated. He gave a forlorn glance at the barn. "She's no wife of mine now."

"Anyways," I interjected, rolling my eyes. "We have to keep Emily away from Ultron."

"Ultron has the Scarlet Witch though," Loki argued. "Emily won't stay away for long now that she knows."

"Then we need to make sure she's ready," Steve confirmed. "As soon as her ankle heals, we begin training her like nobody's business. We can't stop her from coming. So we might as well make sure she won't die as badly as she would have."

* * *

 **A/N: Hey y'all! Three chapters in one day. Man, I am doing great!**

 **FanGirlForever19: BWAHAHAHAHA! I literally burst out laughing when I read your comment. Oh my gosh, it was hilariously (I showed it to everyone who was around me at the time).**

 **So, Ultron's back, Wanda's captured, Loki's helpful! Anything else y'all like to see?**

 **Please leave a comment, question, concern, or conspiracy theory on anything you liked, would like to see, or even disliked :) Have a fantastic night!**


	28. Chapter 28

_**Chapter 28**_

[Emily's POV]

"Checkmate."

Clint grumbled curses at me as I triumphantly knocked over his king with my queen. "How are you so good at this game?"

"My dad and I would play when I was younger," I explained as I began to set up the pieces again. "He would purposefully lose so I could feel happy that I had won."

"Sounds like he was an excellent father to you," Loki interrupted, suddenly peering over my shoulder. It had been nearly a week since radio silence and my last conversation with Wanda, and I had gotten use to the god appearing randomly.

"He was," I breathed, smiling slightly. "But enough of that. Clint, you said you wanted to talk to me about something?"

"I was just wondering how your ankle was feeling," Clint said, shrugging.

"Much better," I responded, patting my cast. Two days ago, I had let Lila draw all over it and now was fondly proud of it. "Having rapid healing is a perk."

"I can attest to that," chuckled Steve, entering the living room. I waved him in and he took the couch, plopping down heavily. "Think you can walk without crutches?"

"Maybe," I said, biting my lip. "I haven't really tried. Been too nervous." I steadied myself on the sides of my chair before hesitantly pushing myself up onto my feet. My ankle began to ache and I shifted until all my weight was on my right foot. This quickly caused the ache to simmer down. "Wherever I'm headed, I need to walk slowly."

"Your bed," Clint said. When I raised my eyebrow at him and asked why, he continued on, saying, "Loki thinks he can protect your mind and connection with Wanda. Steve and I would like you to try connecting with her again. As for the no-crutches thing, you need the workout." I rolled my eyes at him before nodding furiously to his previous statement. I began limping towards the stairs.

Once I got to the base of the stairs, however, I was whimpering and panting. _Who thought the living room was really that far from the stairs?_

"Emily?" Steve asked, suddenly behind me. He put a hand on the small of my back while I gulped down fresh air, trying to stop myself from panting too hard. "Too much?"

"Guess super healing can't heal everything," I squeaked. I shook my foot, trying to roll my ankle and failing. "I don't know if I can get up these..."

I let out a tiny, mini shriek as Steve swept me up into his arms bridal-style. My arms latched themselves around Steve's neck and I hugged him, trying hard to look pissed off, but failing. Clint let out a laugh and Loki gave the smallest smile before returning to his resting face smirk.

Steve helped me up the stairs before lying me down on my bed. He gently brushed some loose strands of hair out of my face. "Bucky is a lucky guy."

"Missing a special lady friend of yours?" I teased, adjusting some pillows for my ankle. A sad look passed over Steve's face before he found the nearby rocking chair, leaning back into it. "Steve...I'm so sorry..."

"Don't apologize," he randomly blurted out, causing me to flinch. "You didn't know me or her back then, so there was nothing that you could have done." He ran a hand through his hair nervously. "Her name was Peggy Carter, British intelligence. We fought together in the war. The only female Howling Commando."

"She sounds lovely," I told him, and Steve nodded, a far away look in his eyes.

"Peggy would have loved you guys," Steve gulped. "You, Nat, and Wanda...she fantasized about a world where women were more then just household servants...she wanted to change the world, like you guys do."

Loki coughed awkwardly and I jumped, realizing that him and Clint were in the room too. "Shall we begin, then?"

I nodded and leaned backwards, positioning myself so I was lying flat on my back. My head was tilted up by the fluffy pillows. Loki walked over and stretched his hands before placing them on my temple. I shivered at how cold they were before closing my eyes.

I focused solely on Wanda: how she looked when we were just hanging out, how she looked training, how she got that awkward blush when Vision talked to her or complimented her.

 _Wanda..._

There was a long silence and I subconsciously bit my lip, worried we were too late.

 _ **Emily...?**_

I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.

 _Wanda...please don't send me away again._

 ** _Prove to me you are Emily_** , Wanda said, desperation crawling into her voice. My fingernails dug into my palms. She was so terrified that she didn't trust herself to know I was the real thing. _**Say something only she and I would know.**_

 _You came into my room and caught me 'snuggling' with Bucky,_ I insisted. _I was so embarrassed and then you wouldn't let me eat until Bucky woke up (you called him a sleeping giant or the sleeping giant) and then..._

 ** _You are_** _ **Emily**_ , Wanda sighed, and I could feel her mumbling a thanks to someone. _**I will not leave this time.**_

 _What's happening? How come Ultron's still alive?_

 ** _Vision and I were attacked_** , Wanda began. _**I-I don't remember much...Ultron...I don't know how he's alive. Emily, he is after you...and this source called a Convergenst. He swears it will be his reckoning. Do not come. He is evil and well-thought.**_

 _I'm so sorry,_ I whispered, feeling tears underneath my eyes. _Clint, Loki, and Steve are here with me. Is there anything you want them to know? They're probably smarter than me when it comes to these things._

 ** _Sokovia,_** Wanda whispered ** _. Sokovia is the key...Ultron's here. I have to go, I'm sorry. I will not let him know you and I have been discussing._**

 _Wanda, what is he going to do?_

 ** _Remember me if this all turns bad._**

 _Wanda!_ I screamed, and suddenly lurched in my bed, panting and wide-eyed.

 **:/:\:**

[Clint's POV]

I rushed over to Emily's side and grabbed onto her hand as she began crying. I wrapped my arms around her and slowly began rocking her, whispering encouraging words into her ear.

"He's going to kill her," Emily sobbed. "I know. I could feel the utter desperation Wanda had."

"Is there anything we need to know?" Steve asked. Emily sniffled and nodded.

"Sokovia," she said, licking her lips. "Sokovia is the key. That's what Wanda said when I asked."

"Loki, can you do a mental-scan of Sokovia?" Steve asked and Loki nodded.

"It will not be one hundred percent accurate since I have never traveled to this place," Loki admitted, and Steve said, "Doesn't matter. Clint, get your bow ready."

"What about me?" Emily asked as I stood up.

"You stay here," Steve ordered, gesturing to the bedroom. "Emily, you are still weak and we can't have you in Ultron's hands."

"What?" she said, kneeling on her bed. "You can't do this! I have every right as you do to go and rescue my friend."

"Clint, prep the jet for China. We'll need Tony and Nat for this."

"Don't ignore me!" Emily yelled, stumbling off the bed. I could see true and utter pain flash in her eyes, but her face didn't reveal it. "I want to help. In any way I can that does not involve staying here and not moving."

Steve cursed under his breath and Emily grumbled, "Heard that."

"Emily," Loki began, and we all turned to him. "The Captain is not making you stay here because he is concerned that you will be a hindrance to the team. He is making you stay here because we know Ultron is after you. There is an Asgardian legend called Ragnarok."

"The end of all ends," Emily murmured. I raised an eyebrow at her. "What? I read."

"Ultron wants to use you to create Ragnarok," Loki insisted and Emily's face paled. "You have this unique, special gift that he wants to exploit. We want you to stay here not only to protect you but because if he tried to find you and attacked this house, you would be able to protect Laura and her children. Do you understand?"

"I understand," she whispered. "Go get 'em, tigers."

* * *

 **A/N: Hey! Just real quick interjection! How's the chapter? Y'all like it.**

 **Please leave a comment, question, concern, or conspiracy theory. Have a great weekend!**


	29. Chapter 29

_**Chapter 29**_

[Emily's POV]

I felt a sharp tug in my heart as I watched the QuinJet slowly rise and leave, heading off into some unknown area. A gentle hand on my shoulder pulled me out of my sulking. I turned and Laura gave me a small smile, one which I returned.

"You really do want to go with them, huh?" she asked, taking a seat on the porch's steps. I followed suit, nodding slowly.

"It's basically all I've ever really wanted to do," I said, shrugging. "When I got my powers, it used to be everyone versus me and my best friend, Lizzy. But now, now that I know there are others like me...I want to protect them all."

"What are your powers?" Laura asked, cocking her head. "Clint went all Mr. Mysterious on me and never actually gave me a straight answer." I laughed and stood up, walking down the path a little, before turning around. I released my concentration and my wings came out. They stretched themselves so they could look bigger and Laura gasped. "T-That's your powers?"

"Among other things, yeah," I grinned sheepishly, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear. "I got them when I was twelve or thirteen...times kind-of blend together for me."

"And you're eighteen now?" Laura asked, and I nodded again. "Wow...they're beautiful." They fluttered happily behind me, and Laura noticed, laughing. "And they can hear what I'm saying?"

"It's not like they're sentient," I told her, resuming my seat. "It's just...you know what, I have no idea why they act like that." Laura laughed again and I smiled. I liked hearing Laura laugh. My mom never really laughed like that...wait...

"My mom," I whispered, my eyes widening. I leapt off the steps and took to the air, figuring I could go faster. I flew as fast as my wings could take me towards the barn, and once I reached the entrance, I landed. I strained to open it, but successfully pushed open the large double doors. I gasped at what I saw.

Broken pieces of ropes were lying around everywhere, and a small section of wood in one of the stalls was missing. It was big enough for a person to crawl through. I gulped.

Discord was missing.

"Emily, what's wrong?" gasped Laura, panting as she caught up with me.

"We have to go get the kids," I whispered, my eyes widening with panic. "Now!"

I turned around, grabbed Laura before she could protest, and jumped into the air. She let out a terrified scream, but the ride was over before she could even process what was going on. I set her down on the steps and said, "Do you have a bug-out bag?" She nodded, still shaking from our ride. "I need you to grab it and the kids'." She nodded again and the two of us raced into the house.

"Cooper!" she yelled out, grabbing a nearby backpack before slinging it over her shoulder.

"Lila! Nate!" I cried out, rushing through the house. Cooper and Lila came racing down the stairs, tears in their eyes. Cooper had a long scratch on his arm. "Cooper! Where's Nate?"

"Someone took him!" cried out Lila, her chin wobbling as she tried to contain tears. "W-We don't know where he went." I nodded and gave them instructions before rushing out of the house. I spread my wings open before racing into the air. I looked around and closed my eyes, focusing on my mother. I could feel a shift towards the north, so I went off that way. Sweat was dampening my brow as I strained my muscles, flying fast and hard. Before she had married my father, my mother used to be a track-runner as well as many other things. She could have been ages away and I wouldn't reach her.

I slapped the side of my head, ridding myself of all the negative thoughts. _I will find Nathaniel, and I will put an end to my mother._

 _Once and for all._

 **:/:\:**

[Clint's POV]

"Where's our extraction!" I hissed as I let another arrow fly. It slammed right into the robot's eye, causing it to malfunction. So, real quick update: Steve, Loki, and I were able to find Wanda and get her out of her cell. Problem: When we did so, we alerted Ultron that she was escaping and he sent all kinds of robots to stop us. Another problem: Wanda was so out of it, she was like in a catatonic state. A coma, basically.

So, go team.

"They've overtaken the QuinJet!" growled Steve, flinging his shield. It bounced off two robots before returning smoothly to him. "We need a new evac. Loki, status update?"

"Busy!" came the reply. A burnt robot flew past me and Loki came beside me, his armor singed in multiple places. "I am seriously regretting not bringing my daughter with us."

"I am too," I grumbled an agreement as I notched another arrow. "With Wanda out of commission, I don't any know possible solutions." Loki grimaced. "I know that face: Emily makes the same one when she has a stupid, good idea."

"I have a solution," Loki said. "We might get arrested, but..."

"Do it."

"Bring the captain over here."

I sent my arrow flying. It embedded itself into the chest of the robot that Steve decided to start fighting. He turned around and looked at me and I motioned him towards us. I knelt down and picked up Wanda bridal-style.

"Now!" I ordered.

"Heimdall, if you would!" Loki shouted. Suddenly, all the robots were bathed in a rainbow-colored light and I felt a dropping sensation in my gut before everything went white.

 **:/:\:**

[Emily's POV]

I landed and brought out my claws, trying to suppress the rage that was growing. My mother stood across the meadow, a small crying child on her hip. He sniffed and reached his arms towards me, but my mother yanked him back to her.

"Let him go," I growled, taking a few steps forward. "This fight is between you and me."

"I wouldn't keep moving if I were you," my mother called out, and I froze when I heard a ticking noise. "Darling, this is a minefield. I purposefully picked this arena for our fight. I know where all the bombs are, but you don't." She looked in mock surprise at Nate and gasped. "Neither does he."

She smirked as she set him down. Immediately, Nate began running towards me.

"Nathaniel, no!" I screamed, leaping into action. I grabbed onto him just as an explosion rippled underneath us.

 _No!_ I screamed in my mind as I wrapped myself around Nate. _Not today..._

 ** _Shall we, my dear?_**

Time froze and I looked up and around. All the flames were still loose, but they were frozen. My mother was also frozen, a sick smirk on her face. _Who are you?_

 ** _Call me a friend_** , the voice hissed. Goosebumps prickled on my arms. **_You know who I am._**

 _The professor promised me that you were gone and dead_ , I hissed, my hair standing on edge. _What do you want?_

 _ **Blood**_ , the voice purred. _**You want it too. You want to see your mother pay for what she put you through, what she put** **Nathaniel**_ ** _through_...**

 _I-I can't. If I do, I'm no better than she is_ _._

 ** _Darling, do you really care if she lives or dies? She beat you, she justified it, she wanted nothing more than to kill you. So, what do you choose?_**

 _Make her pay._

 _Make her bleed._


	30. Chapter 30

_**Chapter 30**_

[Wanda's POV]

Lights were flickering when I blinked my eyes open. Beautiful women were walking all around my bed. One was gently dabbing my forehead with a wet towel. I grunted something, fidgeting in my bed. A fiery, hot pain raced up my side and I whimpered, alerting one of the women.

"Be still, child!" she ordered, rushing over to my side. "You have faced many trials. Your side is still not healed from the damage that was caused." Obediently, I stopped fidgeting and she gave me a small smile. "My name is Frigga. What do they call you?"

"Wanda Maximoff," I whispered, my throat suddenly dry and sore. Frigga snapped one of her fingers and a lady brought me a tall glass of clear water. I sipped at it thankfully and nodded to her. "W-Where's Ultron?"

"There was nobody in your party named Ultron when you arrived," Frigga explained, tilting her head slightly.

"Perhaps it was one of the men who accompanied your son?" suggested one of the maidens, and Frigga shook her head.

"They called themselves Clint and Steve," Frigga insisted, and my eyes widened with surprise and happiness. "You know these men?"

"They are my friends," I croaked out, taking another sip of water. "They mean no harm to me, unlike Ultron." Frigga nodded and snapped again. One of the maidens gave a small curtsy before rushing out of the room. "Where are we?"

"You are currently in the healing ward of Asgard," Frigga said, smiling slightly. "My son brought you here with your two friends, Clint and Steve. You were in very critical condition. I do not mean to sound rude, but I am surprised that you managed to pull through."

"That's my girl, tough as nails," a male voice chuckled. My frown gave way to a large smile as I turned to see Clint. In fact, small tears pricked at the corners of my eyes. "Now, now, don't cry or that'll ruin your image." I laughed and he took the open seat offered by Frigga. Steve wandered in beside Loki, both men relieved to see I was alright. "How are you feeling?"

"With everything that's happened, pretty ok," I commented. "How are you three? How did you...?"

Before I could continue, however, Loki cut me off with a blood-curling scream. The man dropped to his knees, his hands pressing hard at his temples. Frigga rushed to his side instantly, rubbing soothing circles on his back. Steve knelt by him and exchanged a few whispers with him before standing up.

"It's Emily," Steve whispered, and Clint shot up from his chair. "Something's happening to her..."

"Never, in all my travels, have I felt an evil this large before," gasped Loki, moaning as he clutched himself tighter. "Someone has a hold of her and refuses to let her go."

"I shall get my scrying mirror," Frigga said, leaping to her feet. The woman dashed off and Clint took her place once more, quietly asking questions to Loki. I swung my legs off of the bed and Steve gave me a look of horror.

"Just what do you think you're doing?" he demanded, striding over to me. "You were catatonic when we got you. You need rest."

"Loki," I whispered, ignoring Steve. The raven-haired man turned and looked at me, pain-filled tears streaming down his face. "I can project what you are feeling into an image, so we can see what is happening to Emily."

"Do it."

I closed my eyes and held my hands out, letting Clint, Steve, Loki, and I all fall into the image.

 **:/:\:**

 _The sun was setting in the background and I could feel the air beginning to become chilly. Clint was racing off towards a tree, where he had spotted Nate. The rest of us stood in shock and awe at the creature before us._

 _The woman was tall, with long, pure white air. The complete opposite of Loki's. There was not a speck of dirt on it, unlike her face, which was covered in muck and grime. Behind the woman, attached at her shoulder blades, were crimson wings, the color of blood. When the woman spoke, I could feel the ground underneath my feet shake._

 _"You really think that was a smart decision, Discord?" the voice rumbled. It was hers, but also not. It was deeper, more from the chest, and there was a hint of masculinity in it. "You mess with her family...Emily lets me mess with you."_

 _"And who are you?" Charolotte demanded, causing all three of us to flip around. The woman held her ground despite the fact that her leg was severely bleeding. "Some demon that's possessed my daughter?"_

 _"We both know you do not consider Emily your daughter," the voice chuckled again as Emily took two steps forward. An explosion went off, sending an uncomfortable shock wave through us, but as the flames died down, Emily was still visible, with not a scratch on her. She guffawed. "No more than you consider that god your husband." I gave a queer look to Loki, who promptly ignored me._

 _"You still haven't answered my question," Charolotte shot back, taking a few hesitant steps backwards._

 _"It is not becoming of me to reveal my true name to a petty thief like yourself," Emily roared, her voice echoing across the small meadow. She calmed down a bit and hissed, "You may call me...Titan."_

 _And with that, Emily brought out her Wolverine claws and stabbed them into her mother's stomach._

 **:/:\:**

I screamed and released the hold, sending us all crashing to the ground of the healing ward. I gulped for air as my hands clawed desperately at the floor. I looked up at the three men around me, each of their faces' reflecting what I was feeling.

Finally, Clint was the one who spoke. "What. Just. Happened?"

"I've never seen that side of her," whispered Loki, his head in his hands again. "This isn't just some mood of hers...she's adapted some sort of sick power."

"Here it is," said Frigga, returning with a medium-sized mirror. She set it down on the floor, in the middle of the square the four of us had made. "Just ask away and it will reveal."

"Show me my daughter," Loki demanded, and all four of us peered in.

 **:/:\:**

 _Emily no longer had white hair or crimson wings. Her hair had regrown color and her wings were back to their beautiful chestnut. Right now, she held Nate in her arms as she dragged her feet back towards the farm house. Both children's eyes were filled with tears, but Nate made it more known that he was upset. Emily just had a blank look on her face, and she didn't make any sound._

 _"Nate? Emily?" a voice screamed, and that seemed to shake her out of her funk. Laura came running into the picture and Clint gave a sigh of relief when he saw Cooper and Lila beside her. "Oh my gosh..." Laura was shaking as she rushed towards the twosome. "Are you two alright?" Emily handed off Nate to Laura wordlessly before solemnly shaking her head. "Where's Discord?"_

 _Emily just shook her head again and started to take two steps forward. However, once she did, she took two steps sideways and completely fainted._

* * *

 **A/N: Hey y'all. I apologize that I haven't fired out a chapter just yet. I've been running on fumes with chapter ideas and this chapter didn't particularly strike my interest, but I knew I needed to write it. I needed to post this chapter, get it out of my system, so tada! Remember, please leave any comments, questions, concerns, or conspiracy theories y'all may have.**

 **Oh, darn, nearly forgot! This chapter is dedicated to FanGirlForever19, Anonymous-Sarah, and Gwendolyn Yuki (I believed I spelled all of those correctly. If I didn't, I apologize).**

 **And have a Merry Christmas :) (or any other holiday you may enjoy this winter season)**


	31. Chapter 31

_**Chapter 31**_

[Emily's POV]

 _"These are the entrance tests," a calm voice whispered. My eyes widened in disbelief, but I nodded glumly. Warren Worthington III, or Warren as he let me call him, gave a small laugh and sent me a reassuring smile. "Don't worry. They aren't that difficult."_

 _"That's because you got all As," grumbled a voice from the doorway. I turned around and cocked my head at the newcomer. He was a tall and muscular, long hair that ended with side burns. Behind myself, I could hear Warren groaning. The man spat whatever he was chewing into the trashcan and nodded towards me. "Who's she?"_

 _"Emily, meet Logan," Warren said angrily. Someone could practically cut through the tension between the two of them with a knife. "He's a part of the X-Men. Logan, meet Emily Salgado, one of our newest students."_

 _Logan smiled cockily before sauntering over towards me. In an instant, a few long, sharp silver claws flashed out of his knuckles and glittered in the light. I didn't flinch at all._

 _"What, no flinch?" he asked, kind of sounding a bit disappointed. I glanced at him warily._

 _"I have wings that sprouted in the middle of the night when was I younger," I answered simply. "Nothing surprises me anymore..."_

 _I cut off when I couldn't breathe anymore. My hands flashed to my throat and I gulped, trying to bring some air into my lungs. I scratched at my throat, shaking as I sank to the floor. Someone caught me (I think Logan did) but I began to shake uncontrollably._

 _"Go get the Professor!" Logan yelled just as something long and sharp sliced out of my knuckles._

 **:/:\:**

Something wet and soft patted my forehead, moving back and forth in a relaxing, rhythmic way. Every part in my body was aching, except my hands, which didn't feel like anything at all. Suddenly, the wetness on my forehead began to burn. I swatted away the hand that held the thing, but it kept coming back.

"Go away," I grumbled, swatting at it again. "Leave me be."

"Emily Salgado, you are going to let me cool down your fever, or so help me..." the voice spat back. The voice. It was a female's, with a thick accent.

I knew that voice.

Slowly, because I didn't want anymore pain, I blinked my eyes open. A beautiful brunette woman sat on the bed beside me, the wet towel clutched in her hand. Her necklace dangled limply from her neck, the blue opal stone in the middle of it swinging precariously.

"W-Wanda?" I stuttered, unable to quite believe my eyes.

"Hello old friend," she whispered, unable to stop the tears that were forming in her eyes. The two of us launched ourselves at each other, wrapping the other in a giant hug. "I'm so glad you're safe."

"T-They succeeded then?" I gulped, pulling away. I grabbed Wanda's wrists to steady myself. "Ultron's gone?"

Wanda shook her head sadly and I felt my heart drop. "The men decided it was best to just rescue me and worry about Ultron later."

"O-Oh," I stammered, nodding rapidly. "Makes sense." Wanda gave a sympathetic smile before resuming her previous work, keeping my forehead cool. "Where are the others?"

"Right here if you turned around," a male voice chuckled. I flipped around and broke out into tears when I saw Clint, Steve, and Loki. All men were fine, and none of them had a single scratch. Clint walked over to me and I threw myself at him, snuggling my face into his shoulder. He laughed, but hugged me tight just the same. "I'm so glad you're alright..."

"C-Clint, I need to t-tell you something," I said hurriedly, feeling my palms begin to sweat. "A-About Discord..."

"Emily...we know," Steve whispered, and I froze, partially out of fear, and partially out of relief. I sank into my bed and brought my knees up to my chest, slowly rocking myself.

"I swear I didn't mean to kill her," I sobbed, sniffing. "She just had Nathaniel and she was going to kill him...I didn't know what to do..."

"Be calm, child," whispered Loki, taking a few steps forward. " _Min barn_ , it is not your fault. But we need to ask you a few questions. Is that alright, _min_ _ørn_?"

 _My dad used to call me those..._ I thought sadly. Even so, I nodded glumly.

"First question," Steve said softly, taking a seat beside Wanda. "Tell us how you got to the fight."

Gulping, I began, "I realized that no one had checked in on Discord, so I went to do so. Rope fragments were everywhere and there was a hole in the barn about the size of a human. I knew she was a madwoman and might do something terrible, so I got Laura and we went to find the kids. When we got to the house, however, Cooper had a long scratch on his arm. I presume that my mother attacked him in order to get Nate. Lila told me where she was headed, so I sent Laura and the kids the opposite way. That's when I ended up in the mine field."

"You have a mine field in your backyard?" Wanda asked Clint incredulously.

"It's for training purposes!" Clint answered back. "None of the kids know where it is. It's outside the boundaries they can go to."

"Second question," Loki said, ignoring Clint and Wanda. "What happened while you were there?"

 **:/:\:**

[Wanda's POV]

I watched Emily nervously fiddled with her hands before she responded, "I got there, and my mother was holding Nate. He reached for me, but she held him back. I-I ordered her to let him go, but she refused. I was going to go towards her, but she told me how it was a mine field. I still remember what she said. 'Darling, this is a minefield. I purposefully picked this arena for our fight. I know where all the bombs are, but you don't.'" Emily gulped and another wave of sobs hit her. She wiped her eyes as best she could, and whispered hoarsely, "'Neither does he.'"

Clint's face was one of extreme rage and horror.

"She didn't..."

"She did," Emily cried, sniffing. "She set him down and he came running towards me. I lunged at him." She wiped her eyes again and added, "I got to him just as we landed on a mine."

"B-But...how are you not..." I asked, trying to figure out a way to say 'dead' without saying 'dead'.

"Dead?" Emily said bluntly. We all nodded slowly. "He came back and saved me."

"Who?" Steve asked tentatively.

"Titan."

 **:/:\:**

[Clint's POV]

"We saw what you looked like," I began, licking my lips nervously. "Loki saved us from the attack by sending us to Asgard. Using Loki's and Wanda's power, we watched the last bit of your fight. Who is Titan, and how did he come to be?"

"I have a friend back in England," Emily began, rubbing her nose. "Name Warren. He was a winged mutant, like myself. He made some...bad decisions when he was younger. Then, when he was in a jet that was about to explode, this man appeared. Called himself Apocalypse. Offered Warren power and his wings back if he went to work for him. Called himself Archangel. However, Warren began to waver in his beliefs. He would switch from Archangel back to Angel. So, another good friend of ours, Professor Xavier, created a pill that Warren could take. It would allow Angel to remain and force Archangel away. However, if he got too upset or stressed out, then Archangel would take back over."

"Your adapting powers," I concluded, and everyone, Emily included, looked at me incredulously. "What? I can connect the puzzle pieces, people. Emily must have watched this Warren guy switch from Angel to Archangel, and she adapted that power."

"T-That's right," Emily stuttered, a little bit of disbelief and pride flickering in her eyes. "I did adapt it. He's come out before sometimes. He just...hasn't appeared since I left England, so I thought he had left. I don't know his real name. He calls himself 'a friend' or 'the Titan'."

Emily's eyes widened quickly in horror and she urged everyone off her bed. We all leapt off and she held her fists out, her eyes narrowing in concentration. When nothing happened, she let out a strangled sob and she hugged herself, biting her lower lip.

"Emily, Emily, what's wrong?" I cooed, moving and cradling her in my arms. She shook her head, unable to say anything, and Wanda gasped.

"S-She said she figured out why she can't feel her hands," Wanda said, blinking back tears of her own. "H-Her claws...they're gone."

 **:/:\:**

[Emily's POV]

This couldn't be true. This couldn't be true. I must have hit my head really hard or something. Never, in all of my Titan modes, had I ever lost my Wolverine claws. They were a part of me, like how an organ is a part of a system.

"Ok, I'm even more confused now than when we started!" sighed Steve in exasperation. "How can her claws be gone?"

"When the Titan comes to do a 'job' for me, he requires payment," I sniffled. "Payment is my powers. Sometimes he takes one, other times it's two, the number doesn't matter."

"Has he ever taken your wings?" Loki asked, and I shook my head, a small smile coming to my face.

"Those were there before the adaptation," I explained. "He couldn't take them even if he wanted to, which he has."

"So, he took your Wolverine claws as payment for saving you and Nathaniel, along with killing Discord?" Steve asked, and I nodded again. "That's downright sick."

"Never has he taken my claws as payment," I whimpered. "I've had them since I was fourteen." Everyone was silent, out of respect for me. I really appreciated it. Clint leaned forward and gently kissed my head. He used his thumb to wipe any tears that were left over.

"I'm ending radio-silence," Steve said after a few more minutes of silence. "We're heading back to the compound as soon as you're ready, Emily."

"What are we going to do about...Discord?" I managed to ask.

"Let us handle that," Loki told me, and I nodded. "If you two wouldn't mind taking her to the jet, the Captain and I will go find her mother."

* * *

 **A/N: Hey everyone! Here's another chapter :)**

 **So, I decided to be a more responsible adult and I story-mapped the next 5 or so chapters so you'll be seeing them a little more often (hopefully).**

 **Guest: I saw your comment and laughed, so I wanted to personally say thank you! Yeah, I've been busting out chapters as fast as I can.**

 **FanGirlForever19: No problem! I like suspense too.**

 **theflyingpenguin: I know you probably haven't read my story in a while (or at least commented), but back on Chapter 12, you made a comment about how Emily was a bit too OP, and I promised that you would find out her weakness. So...TADA!**

 **For all those Winterlace peeps out there (I don't know if there are any), more Bucky/Emily moments to come :)**

 **Remember, please leave any comments, questions, concerns, or conspiracy theories :)**


	32. Chapter 32

_**Chapter 32**_

[Wanda's POV]

Two weeks.

Two weeks since we all returned safely to the compound, with the exception of Vision. Tony, surprisingly, found him on their return home and brought him along. He was in what Tony liked to call a 'robotic coma'.

Everything was uneventful and secretive. Nobody who left the Bartons wanted to talk about the experience, especially Emily. She would go between the kitchen, her room, and the gym. Even Bucky seemed a little unnerved from her situation, but was smart and didn't ask.

I was in the gym, running laps around the room when Steve walked in. He had a mischievous glint in his eyes, and I easily recognized it.

"What are you planning to do?" I rasped, partially out of breath. Steve tossed me my water bottle before crossing his arms and leaning nonchalantly against one of the pillars. I took a swig of the water and sat down on the floor. "I saw that look in your eyes."

"You heard about the bet?" Steve asked, and I rolled my eyes.

"Who hasn't?" I asked honestly.

It was a well-known fact that Natasha and Steve had bet against when Bucky and Emily would actually get together. Before long, most of the Avengers, myself included, were in on it too. T'Challa, myself, Steve, and Clint were convinced it would be in the next three months, while Natasha, Tony, Bruce (who hadn't been around much due to 'anger' issues), and Thor said it would be afterwards.

"We have two weeks," Steve told me, nodding. "Because of Discord, those two aren't going to get together, and I am not about to lose fifty bucks."

"Agreed," I said. "So, what's the plan?"

"It's time to put Operation Dream-maker into motion."

 **:/:\:**

[Bucky's POV]

I was in the garage, working on a Hummer (the same one I had commandeered when I went after Emily's kidnappers) when Steve sauntered in.

"Hey Buck!" he called out. I jerked up, hitting my head on the hood. I pulled back, grumbling Russian curses at Steve as I asked, "Yeah?"

"So, we discussed things with the team, and it's decided," Steve said, nodding happily. "You are officially an Avenger!" My grin was long and wide and I pumped my fist a little. "Tonight, I'm taking you out to a congratulatory dinner! My treat."

"Really? You don't have to do that," I said, my gentleman-1940s-like state coming out in full thrust. "Let me pay."

"No, no, no," Steve ordered. "You've treated me in the past. Now it's time for me to pay you back."

I nodded, conceding. Once Steve set his mind to something, no one could change it. As Steve walked out, he yelled back, "Oh, and wear something nice, and make it red!"

 **:/:\:**

[Emily's POV]

I stuck my head out of my bathroom and raised my eyebrow at Wanda, who was sitting innocently on my bed.

"You want to what now?" I asked, not feeling fully convinced at her proposition.

"You had a rough time at the Bartons," Wanda began again, subconsciously fiddling with her fingers. "I just thought we should go out, have a nice time. There's this excellent restaurant Steve showed me a while back. You will love it."

"I can't believe I'm saying this," I mumbled under my breath. Louder, I said, "Fine, I'll come with." Wanda squealed happily and clapped her hands together. "So, what do you want me to wear? Because if we're going to this 'excellent restaurant', then there must be a dress code."

"Something drop-dead gorgeous," Wanda said immediately. "We want to knock the socks off of every male within a mile radius. Oh! And make it red."

"Red...?" I mumbled to myself as I walked back into the bathroom to continue brushing my teeth. "Do I even own anything red...?"

 **:/:\:**

[Wanda's POV]

"I convinced Emily," I cheered happily as I came into the kitchen an hour later. Steve was munching on a bagel when I entered, and he gave me a thumbs-up before swallowing.

"Bucky's on board too," he replied, grinning triumphantly. "So now, all we have to do is make sure they stay there and have a nice time." I nodded, full-heartedly agreeing, and sat down on a stool by Steve. We sat there in a comfortable silence until he asked, "How's Vision?"

My chest tightened up at the thought of the android. "According to Tony, he is still in his coma. We are not sure when he will wake up."

"Have you been able to get a read off of him?" Steve asked curiously, cocking his head at me. I shook my head, staring down at my hands. "Hey." He reached over and engulfed my little hands in his giant palm. "He'll be ok, Wanda."

"I-I know," I stammered, feeling a blush rushing to my cheeks. "I-I just feel responsible for what happened to him. And Emily. And everyone!" I let out a sob and pressed my hands against my eyes, trying to stop the flow of tears. Steve shifted beside me and he wrapped an arm around me, pulling me into a delicate hug. I continued to cry, and Steve rubbed my back, whispering soothing words to me.

Once I was done, I pulled back, sniffing slightly. His gray sweatshirt had mascara marks and my hands shot to my mouth, to hold back an apology and a snort. Steve followed my eyes to where I was looking and gave me a disappointed smile.

"I just got this..." he grumbled playfully, trying to wipe off the marks, but only making it worse.

"That's what happens when you play Mama Bear Steve," I chuckled, and he shoved me playfully. It reminded me of Pietro, and I gave a small smile.

"Something wrong?" Steve asked, recognizing the smile quickly.

"Just remembering Pietro," I explained. I poked Steve's leg. "He would be proud that I found someone to play older brother to me while he's away."

"I never had a younger sister," Steve said, grinning widely. "I'd like that."

"Me too."

* * *

 **A/N: Hey everyone! So, sorry for the short chapter. I was just writing and Mama Bear Steve and Wanda just randomly appeared and I absolutely couldn't write anything after that :) So, for Steve/Wanda people (it will not be that way in this story, as far as I know), here's some fluff :)**

 **Here are some answers to some questions I got (I love answering questions :D ):**

 **Katie MacAlpine: Why would Thor fall in love with a mere mortal if he was a god too? Charolotte hates Emily a lot because she stole Loki's attention away from Charolotte (or at least that's how Charolotte sees it). Her mother never knew about Emily's mutations until Emily had join the Avengers. And for the last question, IDK. I haven't even figured out yet XD**

 **MidnightForest037: I'm actually not sure how she wears her clothes. I guess they do phase through, now that I think about it. Weird Emily Biology Stuff. You're in luck! Very soon (hopefully), the Avengers will have a crossover with the X-Men. As for finding out her father, you'll just have to wait and see.**

 **Guest: You said that it was really bad of Warren to take Emily's claws from her. I think I should explain the Titan a bit more and that background. Warren didn't MEAN for Emily to see him switch from Angel to Archangel, it just happened. A new consciousness came to Emily, which named itself Titan, and it's sort of like Hulk to Bruce Banner. Hope that makes more sense.**

 **Ahhhh...questions galore!**

 **Also, in case any of you are wondering, Operation Dream-Maker is part from the song Heartbreaker by Pat Benatar. "Heartbreaker/dream maker". Also, most operations are called Heartbreaker, so I thought Dream-Maker would be funny.**

 **Please leave a comment, question, concern, or conspiracy theory :)**


	33. Chapter 33

_**Chapter 33**_

[Emily's POV]

I tapped my foot impatiently and folded my arms across my chest. This was ridiculous. I was currently decked out in modest red, cap-sleeve floor-length gown that took me five hours to find at the local mall with my heels I wore at the 'Midnight Madness' party. I french-braided my hair (more like I got Natasha to french-braid my hair) so it was pulled back with curls draping all around. I would have felt great, except there was one tiny problem.

It was eight o'clock, like Wanda specified and I was standing outside of the restaurant, in the cold and damp night.

Alone.

Finally, I couldn't take it anymore. I grabbed my purse, yanked out my phone, and immediately dialed Wanda. It rang a couple of times before going straight to voicemail. All the anger and annoyance I felt bubbled up and came out of me like a mini volcano.

"Wanda Elizabeth Maximoff!" I screeched, and some passersby gave me a frightened look. "What is the big deal? First, you ask me to come out with you to this fancy restaurant, I spend five hours in search for a 'fancy-enough' dress to match your taste, I had Natasha do my hair and makeup, which that in itself is a feat, might I add, and I'm here at the restaurant, yet you are nowhere nearby. So, if this is some sort of practical joke, let me assure you I am not in the..."

"Emily?" a voice asked. I flipped around, my shoulders still heaving from anger, but I froze when I saw who was standing across from me.

He had shaved, which made him look at least two years younger than he was. He had a ironed out black dress shirt with a gray tweed vest and a stunning red tie. He had black slacks and shining black dress shoes to match. He was slightly soaked, probably from walking.

"B-Bucky?" I stammered, unable to process what was happening. Quietly, to the phone I added, "You are not off the hook just yet, Wanda." I ended my call and turned back to Bucky. He was looking at me in amazement and I blushed when I realized what he was thinking. "I know, red's really not my color..."

"Red is definitely your color," Bucky stated, then his eyes widened and I laughed. "I can't believe I just said that out loud."

"Trust me, I really needed to hear that right now," I chuckled, my cheeks probably the same shade as my dress. "What are you doing here?"

"Steve invited me," Bucky said, gesturing to the restaurant. "We wanted to have a celebration."

"Wanda invited me," I admitted to Bucky, gesturing to the empty parking lot. "Except she didn't even bother to show up." My phone binged, and so did Bucky's, and we both looked at each other suspiciously before I looked at my new message.

 _Wanda:_

 _Hey Emily! Sorry, but I'm feeling a little under the weather. Won't be able to make it tonight. Go out and have a great time!_

I turned to look at Bucky, and I saw him shaking his head sadly. "Steve bail on you too?"

"Said he had commitments," Bucky explained, putting his phone back into his pocket. "Sharon and Natasha roped him in into some top secret mission that we're not even allowed to know." I huffed and wrapped my arms around my torso, shivering slightly from the cold. "Gosh! I am so insensitive. Hey, let's go inside. You're freezing." I nodded and allowed myself to be guided by Bucky inside the fancy restaurant. Once we were inside, I was astonished to see that the whole place was jammed out, except for one lone table in the middle of it all.

A waiter walked up to the two of us holding large menus. "Hello Mr. Winter and Ms. Lace." I sent a confused and startled look to Bucky, and he sent one right back. "You are Mr. James Winter and Ms. Emily Lace, correct?" Slowly, the two of us nodded. "Splendid! Your brother, Mr. Steven Winter, and your sister, Ms. Wanda Lace, made these reservations for you two earlier today."

Realization dawned on me and my shaky hand reached out to grab Bucky's, who's hand did the exact same.

We had been duped.

 **:/:\:**

[Bucky's POV]

Without seeming too creepy, I followed the waiter, pulling Emily alongside me as we headed towards our table.

I couldn't believe it. Steve and Wanda had really set us up. Even though I specifically told them I didn't feel I was ready to date Emily with the Winter Soldier still within me.

"These are your menus," the waiter continued. "Do not worry about payment. Your father, Mr. Tony Lace, sent us a large sum in order to cover it." Emily shot me a look of pure confusion and I coughed deep in my throat, getting the waiter's attention.

"Thank you," I said politely, nodding my head to the man. "If you don't mind, me and my..." I choked slightly on my words. " _Girlfriend_ would like to order now." Emily blushed profusely and the waiter nodded before ducking away to disturb some other patron. Coughing and rubbing the back of my neck quickly, I pulled out the chair for Emily and she blushed even more (if that was even possible) before sitting down daintily. I pushed her chair in smoothly before walking over and sitting in my own.

"They tricked us into going on a date," Emily said as soon as I turned to face her. I grimaced, then nodded. I could tell she really wanted to throw her hands up in the air, but for the sake of the fancy restaurant, didn't. "I mean, seriously, don't those people have people to save or something?"

"They want to see us happy," I admitted, already sinking into defeat. I shook my head and let out a little laugh. "What does it even matter? They gave us a night alone to spend time together, whether that be on a date or just as friends." Emily nodded, a wide smile breaking out onto her face. "Now, can we order the most expensive thing on this list? I really want Tony to hate us."

"Let's," she agreed, and the two of us were silent as we scanned the menus. Every time there was a word we couldn't pronounce, we would take turns trying to come up with the most ridiculous way of saying it.

"That was so bad," Emily snorted, covering her mouth with the back of her hand. "How did you even make that noise?" I shrugged and gave her a little bow, which made her snort even more. "You are so mean to me."

"But you love me," I teased right back, and suddenly we both grew quiet.

 _Come on, Barnes,_ a little voice inside my head taunted. _Get up the courage and tell her the truth..._

"Listen, there's something I need to tell you," both me and Emily began. We stopped, looked each other in the eye, and started laughing. Not just polite laugh. Rolling around on the ground, unable to breathe kind-of laughing. All the other patrons looked at us incredulously, and I could tell Emily was trying to stop, but every time she would catch my eye, she would break out into laughter again. Finally, after a few long minutes, we were able to settle down enough to order our meals.

"You first," I said, gesturing towards Emily. She nodded and bit her lower lip, quiet for a few seconds.

"Ok, here goes," she muttered under her breath. She took a deep breath and added louder, "Bucky Barnes, the first time I met you was when I came to that little coffee shop, NYCA, and saw you sitting all alone. To this day, I still marvel at how handsome and strong you are." She patted the top of her head lightly. "You've been with me through thick and thin, almost through enough junk that Lizzy would be jealous. What I'm trying to say, Bucky, is I like you. A lot."

A giant pressure that I didn't realize was weighing on me suddenly came free and I took a shaky breath.

"Well, you basically summed that up for me," I managed to say, and Emily looked at me incredulously. "I kid, I kid. Ok, my turn, I guess. I'm going to be straight-out honest with you, Emily. You're beautiful. I've seriously never met a girl like you. You have this way with words that calms me down when I'm stressed. I know I piss you off way too often, and I haven't been there as much as I should have recently, but I felt like I was protecting you." I rubbed my wrists awkwardly and smirked to myself as I realized I picked up that trait from Emily. "When I went under and the Winter Soldier came out and tried to kill you, I thought that I could never truly love you because I didn't want to hurt you. Well, I was an idiot for thinking that."

I stood up and walked over to Emily, offering my hand out to her. "Emily Salgado, I'm pretty sure I'm in love with you. Now, can I have this dance?"

 **:/:\:**

[Emily's POV]

I was going to cry.

I could already predict it.

He loved me. He basically said so himself. I looked at him and tried my best not to have my voice shake as I answered, "Of course, you dummy." I reached out with a shaky hand and he grabbed it, helping me to my feet. He pulled me over to the dance floor, which took up the back of the restaurant. Multiple couples were already on the floor, swaying softly to the beat.

"I warn you, I am a major klutz," I told him, and he laughed.

"Follow my lead," he said, guiding my arms up around his neck. He placed his hands firmly on my hips and I couldn't continue my silly grin as we slow danced to the beat of the music.

"I can't express how relieved I am to know how you feel," I whispered softly to him, and he looked down at me in surprise. I fiddled with my hands behind his neck as I added, "It's hard for me when it comes to guys. Ever since my father disappeared, I've never really...gone...on a date?" I finished with a weak smile and Bucky paused.

"This is your first date?" he asked, raising an eyebrow in suspicion. When I nodded meekly, he leaned over and gently kissed my forehead. "Well, now that I don't have to worry about whether or not you like me, I can guarantee you that I will create the perfect, official first date ever."

"Aren't you sweet?" I teased, and suddenly we both realized how close we were. Our noses were just barely touching and we were both sharing the same air. One of my hands came down from his neck and was resting lightly on his shoulder, while my other hand was pressed tightly against the back of his neck. His hands on my waist tightened and we slowly leaned in...

A gunshot rang out throughout the restaurant and the next thing I knew, Bucky and I were on the ground.

 **:/:\:**

[Bucky's POV]

To say I was pissed off would be the understatement of the year. I was angry beyond description and imagine. I couldn't have some shred of happiness in my life?

I narrowed my eyes as I watched a man next the entrance of the restaurant hold up a gun to the man who had been our waiter. He was wearing a black ski mask, along with a black bulletproof vest and jeans with sturdy black boots. _Steel-toes_ , I realized, clenching my fists. Reason be screwed. He messed up my date.

I stood up, and Emily followed suit. Ignoring the protests of the frantic people around us, we strode down the aisle until the man realized we were walking. He flipped around and aimed the gun at Emily's chest, cocking it.

"One more step and your pretty little girlfriend here dies," the man snarled, and I felt Emily tense up beside me.

"You interrupted our date," Emily hissed, and for some reason the tips of her hair were starting to whiten a little. "You are so dead."

"Yeah, that's what they all..." he began to say, until Emily and I broke out into a run. In an unspoken agreement, I slid to the ground and Emily leapt up, gaining extra height with her wings. The man's gun fired off, but it ripped through the fabric on Emily's dress, not even scratching her. Using my disguised metal arm, I slammed it into the ground and spun around, aiming a well placed kick to the back of his knees. Emily's fist connected with his face and the man fell to a lump on the ground, spewing curses at us.

"Next time, pick a different restaurant," I growled at him, standing to my feet. I looked at Emily and the white in her hair had disappeared. Murmurs throughout the restaurant started to get louder and louder, and soon everyone was on their feet, clapping and cheering for their 'rescuers', as some of patrons started calling us. The waiter ran up to us and shook our hands rapidly.

"Mr. Winter and Ms. Lace, any time you wish to dine here, it is on the house!" the man exclaimed, and we each said thank you before she grabbed my hand. We both walked out of the restaurant and headed back towards the compound, neither of us saying a single word.

* * *

 **A/N: HA! YOU THOUGHT THEY WERE GOING TO KISS, BUT THEY DIDN'T! I am so mean, I love it ;p**

 **Thank you everyone who reviewed and even just stopped by to see it. Over 18,000 views, 71 favorites, and 89 followers! Thank you all so much. It means a lot to me that people like my story.**

 **Here's a little challenge: answer some of these questions through reviews! I am really curious:**

 **1) Favorite character so far**

 **2) Favorite moment so far**

 **3) Favorite line**

 **4) Favorite family ship (as in, if these two people had to be related, make these two people related)**

 **5) If you had to face-claim (pick a celebrity to play) Emily and Charolotte Salgado, who would you pick?**

 **And, only to be fair, I'll give you my answers: I'm really liking how I've written Wanda so far. She gets very little character development in my opinion in the movies. Favorite moment so far has got to be when Emily gets sick or the time when Charolotte attacks Emily. Favorite line: "I'm sorry, but he was unable to attend. He asked me to come in his stead." ~Loki (Ch24). And if I had to face-claim Emily and Charolotte Salgado, I would pick Emma Watson as Emily (with more lighter hair) and Rachel Bay Jones as Charolotte Salgado.**

 **TADA! So now, onto reviews:**

 **MidnightForest037: I totally get you. Yeah, they do ;). I think it's actually supposed to be the next chapter or the one after that, so hopefully soon (haha)**

 **Guest: I have no clue what Steve would spend fifty bucks on. Every time I think of something, it always comes back to a toaster X'D.**


	34. Chapter 34

_**Chapter 34**_

[Wanda's POV]

That night was supposed to be perfect.

Steve and I convinced Tony to pay for their dinner, we had Jarvis hack into the restaurant's security cameras so we could watch the whole evening unfold while sitting on the couch eating popcorn...

It was supposed to be perfect.

When the two of them arrived home, neither were speaking. Emily's eyes were red, swollen, and bloodshot. Bucky was stoic, his face not showing any emotion. When they were at the bottom of the stairs, Bucky leaned over and kissed Emily's head before walking up the stairs and disappearing to his room. Emily followed to her room slowly, her movements long and dragged out. I looked over to Steve with a worried expression.

"What happened?" I whispered slightly, my voice shaking. Steve leaned over and gave my hand a quick squeeze before getting up, following Bucky towards his room. I took a minute to center myself before I headed over to Emily's room. I gently knocked on the door and I heard shuffling from inside. The lock turned and she opened the door.

She looked awful up close. Her makeup was smeared from tears and the rain, her dress was ripped and wrinkled, and she was visibly shaking.

"Emily," I murmured, and I swooped in, wrapping her in a hug. She grabbed onto me tightly, sobbing into my chest. "Come on, let's get you cleaned up."

After shutting the door, I made her change into shorts and a baggy sweatshirt, helped her wipe off her ruined makeup, and take down her hair so it wasn't all pinned up anymore. While she was changing, I ran to the kitchen, made tea, and hustled back just as she walked out.

"Thank you," she muttered meekly, taking the mug I offered to her. She walked over to her bed and sat down, tucking her legs up underneath herself. I took a place opposite of her and waited a few moments as she drank her tea before I decided to say something.

"What happened?"

Emily froze and shakily placed the mug on her side table.

"Well, we were pretty pissed that you guys decided to ditch us, first off," she told me, and I gave her a weak smile. She returned it. "But, in the end, thank you. We talked and dined, and we told each other how we really felt..."

"Finally!" I blurted out, my free hand coming to slap my mouth shut. I looked at her with wide eyes and Emily snorted softly. "Sorry..."

"It's okay," she insisted, waving her hand to dismiss the problem. "Anyways, we got up to dance and..." She bit her lower lip and rubbed her eyes with the palm of her hand. "I feel like such a dork saying this..." Emily looked at me and gulped. "W-We were about to kiss when the gunman came in."

"Kiss?" I asked incredulously. The cameras didn't show the dance floor, so all Steve and I saw was Emily and Bucky leaving to dance, and then coming back to take down the gunman. "You and Bucky...kiss?"

"Yeah, kiss," she sniffed, rubbing her nose. "And so, obviously, that didn't happen. But it was such a good night and we were having a good time..." She broke off, her voice cracking. "Why can't we have some happiness in our lives?"

"Emily, you do," I insisted, and she looked away, not meeting my eyes. I placed my mug down next to hers and gently took her hands in mine. "Emily, I know that this night was ruined for you by this man. But I want you to tell me some positive things that came out from this situation."

Emily sniffed again as she looked up at me with watery eyes. "H-He could have g-gone to a different r-restaurant, where t-there would be no one t-to save the patrons."

"Good. Another."

"W-We were able t-to save the people inside without a single injury to ourselves or them."

"Excellent. One more."

"We get free food whenever we go there now." My mouth dropped in disbelief and Emily let out a laugh. I chuckled along with her and leaned forward, using my thumb to wipe away any tears that fell from her eyes. "Maybe next time, you and Steve will actually come, Ms. Lace."

I winced and gave a small, helpless smile. "We couldn't think of any pseudonyms at the time, so..."

"It was better than what you could have done," Emily admitted, giving a small shrug. "And, what's with Tony being my dad? Couldn't he have been Bucky's?"

"He said he would only pay if he was your dad," I defended, holding my hands up in surrender.

Emily laughed and smiled. "Thanks for the night, Wanda. If you don't mind, I think sleep would help me a lot right now."

"No problem," I told her, getting up. I leaned forward and kissed the top of her head. "Goodnight, Emily."

"Night, Wanda," she called out as I headed towards the door. "Oh! And...don't check your voicemail."

 **:/:\:**

[Emily's POV]

 _My blood felt like ice, and I stood in that clearing, feeling frozen._

 _That clearing. The minefield behind the Bartons._

 _Nate's crippled body laid on the ground by my feet, bleeding and no longer breathing. I couldn't breathe and the world was spinning dangerously. A cold hand laid itself onto my shoulder. Pain, like that of a gunshot wound, raced through me and I let out a scream of pain. I gritted my teeth and stood my ground, watching as my mother walked around me. She was wearing a beautiful white blouse; it was the same one I gave her for Christmas when I was sixteen. The midriff was stained red with blood. Her jeans were ripped and dark with blood stains as well. Half of her hair was missing there were long claw marks crawling down her face from one eyebrow to the opposite side of her face. She looked at me and gave me a disappointed smile._

 _"Emily, Emily, Emily," she sighed, shaking her head. She gave me a cruel smile and moved her hand until she was dragging her finger along my cheek. I hissed with pain as I felt blood being drawn and painfully looked down towards Nate. My mother followed my line of sight and clicked her tongue in disapproval. "I told you. He didn't know where the bombs where."_

 _"I-I should've been there to save him," I gasped as the situation finally sunk in. Nate was dead. Clint's son...he was dead. "I-I could've been there..."_

 _"Not everyone was destined to be a superhero," she commented, shaking her head slightly. "Some need to be villains." She laughed cruelly and a painful shiver shot through me, forcing me to my knees. My white-knuckled hands gripped at the dirt tightly as I let my tears continue to fall. "I mean, look at your father and me. We aren't exactly what you would call perfect parents."_

 _"D-Daddy?" I whispered in confusion, looking up to meet her cold eyes. "What do you mean? Dad's dead. And besides, he was a better parent than you will ever be!"_

 _"Your father left us," she growled, kneeling down in front of me. She grasped my jaw with her hand and the red-hot pain returned, causing me to whimper in pain. "He had a choice and he decided he wanted more power. He left because he didn't love you or me. He tried to destroy people and was sent away because of it. I don't think he'll ever return. For you or anyone else. Face it, Emily: he doesn't love you. Nobody does."_

 _"N-No," I stuttered, crawling away. "H-He doesn't...He..."_

 _She gave a loud cackle as she stood up. She tilted her head and shot me an evil smile. She made a move to take a few steps towards me but a deep rumble filled the air. She froze and looked around, startled._

 _A shadow fell over me and I watched the shadow in fear. Two wings spread out from the body shape of the shadow and the rumble came back._

 _My mother looked up and gritted her teeth in anger. "You."_

 _"Hello, Charolotte. Been a while, hasn't it?" the person behind me rumbled. It was a deep, rich baritone voice with a hint of an accent. Australian, if I had to place it. "Now...what are you doing here?"_

 _"Can't I say hello to my daughter?" she hissed, and for once in my life, I saw a hint of fear in her eyes._

 _"Not when you're supposed to be dead," the man responded. I kept my eyes trained on the shadow, shaking too hard to try and move. "Emily is my ward. I have taken her under my wing, so to speak. You mess with her, and I get to mess with you."_

 _"You..."_

 _"Yes, we have established that I am Titan and you are Charolotte, just as she is Emily," the man snorted, and I could visualize him rolling his eyes. "Now, begone from Emily's dreams, or I will have to take measures into my own hands."_

 _My mom gritted her teeth and let out an ear-piercing scream as she dissolved from view._

 _All of my surroundings suddenly fell away and was replaced by a blank, white expanse, and I found myself seated on a plain white couch. When I looked down at my clothes, I had switched from 'that' outfit and was in a plush v-neck white knitted sweater with warm skinny jeans. Gray knitted slippers were on my feet, and on the cute coffee table was a cup of hot chocolate._

 _Across from me, in a single white chair, sat a man wearing a completely black outfit. He had shaggy white hair that fell into his eyes occasionally, and bright blue eyes. He wore a black v-neck, along with a black leather jacket, jeans, and shoes. What really surprised me was what was attached to his back._

 _A pair of giant, crimson wings._

 _"Welcome, Emily dear," the man purred, sending me a dazzling smile. It was the same Australian voice. "Now that you're out of your nightmare, we need to have a talk."_

 _Quietly, as loud as I dared to say, I whimpered, "Titan."_

* * *

 **A/N: Hey y'all. Sorry! I know I haven't posted in a while. I was busy with schoolwork and I've been hitting a bit of writer's block when it came to this story. I figured it just needed a push.**

 **So, now y'all know what Titan looks like (face-claim: Bren Foster).**

 **I would like to thank everyone who has read my story and/or is still reading my story! I appreciate it a ton.**

 **Followers: 91**

 **Favorites: 73**

 **Communities: 2**

 **Views: 19,827**

 **Guys, these stats make me soooo happy! Thank you all so much again :)**

 **Please leave a review. I love hearing what you guys think about the chapter and such.**

 **Guest and FanGirlForever19: Cate Blanchett, Elizabeth Mitchell, and Rachel Bay Jones are all Charolotte to me XD Is there a way to combine all three women?**

 **FanGirlForever19: I completely forgot about that line until you said it XD**

 **Please leave any comment, question, concern, or conspiracy theory!**


	35. Chapter 35

_**Chapter 35**_

[Emily's POV]

 _The man gave me a gorgeous smile that would melt the hearts of fangirls everywhere before nodding his head in confirmation._

 _"Beautiful and smart," Titan purred, taking a sip of whatever liquid was in the mug in his hands. "That's my girl." He set his mug down and placed his hands on the armrests. "Now, about that talk…"_

 _"You were missing for two years," I spat, suddenly finding my courage. I gripped the ends of my sweater with tight fingers and tried to contain myself. I couldn't lose myself. I needed to focus on why he was there. "Why show up now?"_

 _The man gave a simple shrug and reached back to grab his mug. I narrowed my eyes at him and took a deep, sharp breath through my nose. Titan rolled his eyes at me and leaned back in his chair, ignoring his drink. "You needed saving. I simply inserted myself into the equation."_

 _"But Professor Xavier said…he promised me you were gone and dead," I hissed, feeling a large weight settle itself onto my chest. "How are you not…?"_

 _"Dead?" Titan interrupted me, and I nodded sharply. Titan stiffened slightly and I knew he was resisting the urge to roll his eyes again. "It's simple, Darling. You cannot kill a Titan."_

 _This time, I rolled my eyes and leaned back in my seat, folding my arms across my chest. "Good to see that you are just as narcissistic as I remember."_

 _"I'll take that as a compliment, my dear," Titan chuckled slightly, shooting me a wink. "So, how's the Avengers life for you? Missing any X-Men?"_

 _"Get to the point, Titan," I yelled, leaping to my feet. "I am ready to wake up and have this entire nightmare named 'you' end."_

 _"Oh, but the nightmare won't end once you wake up," Titan corrected me, standing up to match me. He loomed high, his dark eyes focusing in on mine. He took a step forward and the coffee table disappeared completely so there was nothing separating the two of us. Titan towered above me and I felt my skin crawl with anxiety. He looked down at me with a smirk. "As soon as you wake up, some other disaster will happen. Nightmares don't end, Emily. They just pass over from your dreams into your real life and are called accidents, disasters..."_

 _I stiffened and Titan gave me a dazzling smile before flipping on his heel, stalking off into the white abyss. "And where are you going?"_

 _"Clearly, you are in no mind to have this chat we need to have," he called out, not even bothering to look over his shoulder. "We'll discuss that at a later time." Titan paused, then sent a backwards glance towards me. "See you again, Emily dear."_

 _And then, he snapped his fingers and the world turned black._

 **:/:\:**

[Bucky's POV]

The next morning was rough. I woke up before the crack of dawn and slipped on a black muscle shirt, my fingers stalling momentarily to brush against my metal arm. It sent shivers down my spine and I turned away, grabbing a black knitted sweater in case it got cold. Steve kept on insisting that I needed more sleep, but ever since I woke up from the ice, sleep was something that didn't come to me easily. That last time I had a decent night's rest was when I went to Emily's room after my nightmare.

I shook my head to clear my thoughts and slipped out of my room, pausing momentarily when I got outside Emily's room. Only one, flimsy piece of wood separating the two of us. I raised my hand to knock, but stopped myself. We were both pretty upset that our date had gotten interrupted, even though we did manage to save a lot of people. She probably needed her space.

I focused on the path ahead and ignored the aching feeling in my chest as I descended the stairs into the living room, only to be met with a surprise.

Emily was sitting curled up on the couch, wearing a v-neck white knitted sweater, jeans, and slippers. In her hands was a cup of hot cocoa and she was sipping at it daintily as she looked through the large glass walls that had been replaced after Ultron blew the compound up. Her blue eyes peered at the darkness outside. She stiffened at the sound of my footsteps and looked over her shoulder hesitantly, only relaxing when she saw my face.

"Bucky," she whispered softly, and her voice sounded hoarse, like she had been crying. "Why are you up? It's really early."

"I could ask the same question to you," I replied gently, walking over to her. She patted the spot next to herself and I took the invitation, settling in beside her. Instinctively, I placed my arm on the back of the couch, and it slid down around Emily's shoulders. As soon as I realized what I was doing, I moved to take it back, but Emily leaned into my touch and rested her head against my shoulder. So, instead, I relaxed and pulled her close, closing my eyes as I took a deep breath. She smelled wonderful, as usual. "I couldn't sleep. You?"

"Nightmare," she admitted, taking another sip of her drink. I felt a sudden urge to get hot chocolate too, but I was too cozy to move. "About the night my mother died."

I stiffened slightly and nuzzled my nose into her hair. "I heard about that from Steve…" Emily nodded, reaching up and gently brushing away any tears on her face that had spilled over. "I'm going to be honest, Emily, I don't know what to say…"

"I understand," she whispered softly. "It just helps to have you here."

I gave her a gentle squeeze and we sat like that for a minute of silence before I asked, "Will discussing your nightmare help?"

She shook her head and I gave the back of her head a kiss before continuing, "Well, we're both up super early and it seems that neither of us are going to go back to sleep anytime soon. What are we going to do?"

"I don't know," she yawned, rubbing her eyes. "I would usually work out." She was silent for another moment and I took that moment to look out towards the darkened sky. There were no clouds in the sky and the moon was bright and full. Through the glass, I could spot the faint twinkle of stars as they emerged from their dark curtains. An idea popped into my head and I bit my lower lip. Steve would hate it, but he would understand.

Hopefully.

"Grab some shoes," I told her, pulling myself out of her presence. She looked up at me with bleary eyes and a confused expression. "Just trust me. Bring something warm. And meet me in the garage in ten minutes." With that, I raced into the kitchen to prepare our little feast. I grinned at the ludicrousness of my idea, but felt absolutely proud. If only my parents could see me now…

They would love Emily. She had the fieriness deep inside her like my father, but knew when to shut her mouth and follow instructions like my mother. If we were living back in 1945, I would have introduced her to my folks and my siblings. They would've teased my relentlessly and talk about how I finally managed to find a girl and keep her. I gave a small, sad smile as I finished the putting the last of my surprise for Emily inside the wicker picnic basket. I tried not to show how much I missed my family, but it hurt. A lot.

I understood that Emily felt the same way. Her father was supposedly dead, even though he was actually alive. Through the Titan (as Steve called it), she had point-blank killed her mother. Then, there was all the drama with her wings and powers that I couldn't even go into to.

I grabbed the handles of the basket and headed over to the garage, pleased to find Emily already in the passenger side of the Hummer. I slipped the basket into the back seat and slipped into the driver's side. Emily eyed the basket and sent me an incredulous look.

"You want to take me on a picnic before dawn?" she slurred. I could see the wheels in her head turning slowly. "Are you insane?"

"I told you to bring something warm," I retorted gently, and she groaned, leaning in the back of her seat. "Here." I tossed her the sweater I had brought down with me and she grabbed it thankfully, slipping it on.

"Won't you get cold?"

"Super soldier serum, doll," I told her. "I don't get cold anymore." Thank goodness, I added quietly in my head. I turned the Hummer on and we pulled out of the Avengers compound. Once at the road, I turned left and we began our mini trip. We barely spoke in the car ride, Emily making comments about the song on the radio and trying to guess whether or not I knew it yet. Most of the time, I had no clue what it was, let alone what they were saying.

:/:\:

[Emily's POV]

I snuggled myself closer to myself as I pulled Bucky's sweater tighter around me. I smelled sweet, like detergent and gunpowder all mixed into one. Strange sweet, but still sweet. I glanced at Bucky and watched him quietly as he navigated the roads. He was probably one of the safest drivers I had ever met. He always wore a seatbelt and he was a stickler about making sure to turning on his blinkers. The car was heated to the perfect temperature, and just being near to Bucky made me feel elevated.

All too soon, Bucky stopped the car and got out, letting in a cold, rush of air. I squealed and pulled his sweater tighter around myself. It was too early to be cold. He grabbed the wicker basket and came around, opening the door for me.

"Aren't you a gentleman," I snickered, shoving him slightly as I got out. He raised an eyebrow at me and I rolled my eyes. Taking my hand in his, he pulled me away from the car and towards a small, patch of grass. Setting down the basket, Bucky opened it up and brought out a stereotypical red-and-white checkered blanket, which I helped him lie out flat. Then, from within the basket, he produced two fluffy pillows which I instantly recognized from the couches at the compound. How he managed to smuggle those in, I had no idea. Next from the magical wicker basket, he pulled out strawberries and this glass jar with a dark, brown substance that wobbled. Following that was also a single, red rose.

"For you, mademoiselle," he drawled, handing the rose to me. If it wasn't for the darkness, he would have seen that my cheeks went the color of the rose. "I figured we could watch the stars and the sunrise while eating food and being comfortable."

"You certainly know how to wow a girl," I chuckled lightly. He got up and pulled me close, whispering huskily in my ear, "I certainly know how to wow you."

I shivered and blamed it on the cold. In order to lighten the mood, I shoved Bucky and spent the next five minutes running for my life, trying desperately not to get tickled. Sadly, my shorter legs were outrun and Bucky lifted me over his shoulder, walking triumphantly back towards the blanket. I tried to shake myself off, but his darn metal arm get a good grip around my torso. Bucky sat me down, ever so gently, on the blanket and I leaned back, staring up at the stars as he positioned himself next to me.

They all twinkled brilliantly, sending shivers of awe and wonder down my spine as I examined their brilliance.

"This is amazing," I whispered, awestruck. "I've never seen the stars so clear before."

"My family used to go do this," Bucky explained to me, reaching over to grab a strawberry. He took a bite out of it before explaining with juice dribbling down his chin. "My siblings and I would run out of the house in the middle of the night and go to a large, grassy knot to watch the stars fall and the sun rise. My parents apparently knew about it for years, and they were grateful we left, because they did the same on top of our apartment complex. It was sort-of like their date night, you could say."

I laughed before handing Bucky a napkin.

"They sound wonderful," I told him, reaching out and grabbing his free hand with mine. He nodded absentmindedly and I twisted onto my side, looking at him. "I wish I could've met them."

"I'm not sure what happened to them," Bucky said quietly. "Any of them really. I've been too busy with the Avengers and then trying to kill the Avengers, and then being an Avenger to ever try and contact them…"

"You could be an uncle and you don't even know?" I interrupted him, my eyes widening. Bucky shrugged and I pulled my hand away, using it to slap his shoulder. "Bucky!"

"What?"

"We have to go find them," I ordered and Bucky sat up. I followed suit and continued, "I'm serious, Buck. You said you were the eldest of four kids, right?" Bucky nodded slowly. "Which means…"

His eyes widened in disbelief and his jaw went slack. "My siblings could still be alive." I nodded frantically and pulled my phone out of my jean pocket. Thank goodness I decided not to leave the compound without it. I pulled up the search engine and asked, "What's one of your siblings' names?"

"Rebecca," Bucky answered instantly. "Rebecca Barnes, but I don't know what her married name could be."

I still typed up 'Rebecca Barnes' and was bombarded with over 1,920,000 results. "Ok. This might be a little harder than I anticipated. But, nevertheless, we charge!" I searched every profile I could on Facebook and other social media outlets, trying to find something could connect a woman to Bucky. He became disinterested about fifteen minutes into the whole process and, instead, started to eat all the strawberries.

"There better be some left for me!" I scolded him when he got halfway through the jar. I gave a sigh of defeat. "Ok, last one."

I clicked on it and silently prayed that it would match. As I did the other ones, I read it out loud to Bucky to see if anything caught his interest.

* * *

 **NAME:** Rebecca Marian Proctor (Barnes)

 **PERSONAL TAGLINE:** "Doesn't matter where you've been, doesn't matter what you've seen. Doesn't matter who've you killed, doesn't matter who've you saved. I'm with you, 'til the end of the line."

* * *

As soon as those words left my mouth, Bucky froze. He turned to me and I was startled to see tears in his eyes and already running down his cheeks. I dropped my phone and cradled his face in my hands. "Bucky! Are you alright? What's wrong?"

"T-That's her," he stuttered, a crazed smile forming on his lips. "T-That tagline. She used to say it to me all the time. Before I went out to beat some bullies who were fighting against Steve, before I left for the war…" He let out a whoop of happiness and pulled me into his arms, burying his face into my neck. I sat there, startled, but then wrapped my arms around his chest, hugging him close. "You found my sister."

* * *

 **A/N: Hey y'all! So, this was NOT where I was planning to have Solace's Wings edge towards, but hey! It's cool :) By now, according to my notes, Emily and Bucky were supposed to be living happily as a couple in London with all their X-Men friends, but that obviously didn't happen, so I gotta rechange my idea.**

 **I forgot to put this in the A/N for the last chapter, but my choice of music for writing these two stories was:**

 **Look What You Made Me Do by Taylor Swift (covered by Alex Goot and Tyler Ward)**

 **Young and Menace by Fall Out Boy**

 **Champions by Fall Out Boy**

 **The Champion by Carrie Underwood (ft. Ludacris)**

 **Weird songs to listen to for this story, but good things XD**

 **REVIEWS!:**

 **WildestDreams72394: Yeah, I understand my writing style is sort of wonky for this story (if you read Treachery of a Warlock: Lifwynn and Cwealm, you'll definitely notice a different writing style). Yeah, working on extending the chapters now. All of them have to be at least 2,000 words long. Eventually, I'll push 3,000 and then 4,000, hopefully :)**

 **FanGirlForever19: I'm actually ditching schoolwork in order to post this right now XD. Yeah, I'm making Wanda like the big sister to Emily, which means that Steve is both Wanda's and Emily's older brother XD**

 **Katie MacAlpine: Nah, can't tell you who Titan is just yet ;p. I'm hoping to make his reveal cool and dramatic (it probs won't end that way, but oh well). I still face claim him as Bren Foster. Love that man.**

 **As for when Emily will find out that Loki is her father, who knows! (I sure don't). ALSO!: There will be a sequel to Solace's Wings eventually! I'm going to be making a poll on my profile soon on what the sequel's name should be.**

 **Please leave any comments, questions, concerns, or conspiracy theories. And hey! If you have an idea, please review. I'd like to know what I'm doing for once in my life! XD**


	36. Chapter 36

**_Chapter 36_**

[Bucky's POV]

When we got back, Steve was pissed, but his eyes shone with a new and bright light as soon as I mentioned Rebecca's name. Being the only child that he was, my siblings had basically adopted Steve, and so they were as much his siblings as they were mine. Steve ordered us to bed to get a few hours of sleep, but told us by noon we would be heading out to the retirement center that Rebecca lived at.

Though I was nervous and crazed, I did manage to get a few hours of sleep. When I woke up, I changed into jeans and a plain white t-shirt. I threw on the black leather jacket I used to wear when I was the Winter Soldier and felt a sense of pride when I slipped my arms through the sleeves. Whenever I wore it as Bucky, I felt empowered, as if I had conquered my biggest fear.

Emily was waiting for me outside of the door with a steaming cup of hot cocoa. She had switched out of her old clothes and into black heeled combat boats, skinny jeans, a plain black t-shirt, and a cozy black-and-white striped cardigan. Dangling around her neck was a beautiful golden necklace that looked like an arrowhead. I gently kissed her cheek in a thank you for the hot cocoa and laughed as she blushed red.

"It's too early for that," she mumbled under her breath, taking a long sip of her drink. I shook my head and threw an arm around her shoulder as we headed down the stairs. Steve was up and about, clean-shaven and showered. He was wearing a white t-shirt and jeans, along with a black blazer. His hair was all slicked back, the way it used to be back in 1945.

"Trying to impress my little sis?" I laughed, and Steve shot a glare at me before continuing what he was once doing. As I watched, I smiled fondly as he snuck a box of madeleines into the care package he was assembling for Rebecca. They used to be her favorite. Steve's mom was a fantastic cook, and made the best food in the entire city. Madeleines was one of her specialty desserts.

At noon exactly, the three of us piled into the hummer and went straight for St. Mary's Retirement Center, the retirement center where Rebecca lived. Steve parked us excellently and as soon as I stepped out, I felt my chest tightened up with sudden anxiety. What if she didn't remember? To be on the fair side, I had forgotten about her for months, years even! It was only when I felt Emily slip her hand into mine that I began to calm down. Steve seemed as nervous as I did, so she grabbed his free hand with hers as well. The three of us sent each other reassuring smiles and headed towards the lobby.

The retirement home was cozy and had a beautiful, wooden texture and scheme to it. Steve's eyes sparkled with interest and I could sense that he wanted to draw it badly.

Emily let go of our hands and walked over to the receptionist, a plump lady with thick-rimmed glasses. "Hello! My name's Emily Salgado and this is Steve and Bucky. I was wondering if you could tell us where Rebecca Proctor is staying…?"

The woman behind the desk (Annabelle was what was written on her nametag) clicked her tongue sadly and shook her head. "Not Proctor. Not anymore. Poor man passed away three months ago. Rebecca changed her name back to Barnes. But yes, I would be delighted to show you where she is staying." As she waddled out of her chair, she asked, "Which number are you?"

"Number…?" Steve asked concernedly, glancing towards me for reassurance. I sent him a helpless look before looking back towards Annabelle.

"Kids," Annabelle supplied. "I swear that woman has more children while we aren't looking. Last time I checked, she had around nine, but I could be mistaken."

I hadn't even registered that tears were in my eyes before Emily was squeezing my arm gently. I looked down at her and she looked back at me with concerned eyes. "You ok?" I managed a nod.

"We're relatives," Steve told Annabelle, and the woman seemed to accept our answer. We followed Annabelle through the crazy twists and turns of the retirement home before stopping at one specific door. There was fifties music blaring in the background, and I even recognized some of the songs.

"When you get in there, tell Rebecca to turn it down a bit," Annabelle ordered us. "Just because she enjoys the music doesn't mean that some of her roommates do too."

"Got it," Emily promised her. "And again, thank you." Annabelle sent us a warm smile before disappearing into a different room. Emily looked between the two of us men and licked her lips. "Ready?"

"Nope," Steve and I answered instantly, and she rolled her eyes.

"Men," she grumbled under her breath, and gently knocked on the door. "Excuse me? Ms. Barnes?" There was a muffled voice from within, but I could tell she said 'come in'. I signaled to Emily that we were clear to enter and she gently pushed the door open. The music turned itself down and I was filled with the sights of sterile white walls and the smell of bleach.

And there, lying on the bed, was an elderly woman, between the ages of 85 and 90. She had long, styled white hair and wrinkles, but the gleam in her blue eyes was undeniable.

It was Rebecca.

She caught my eyes and her mouth went slack. She looked between Steve and me for a moment, before turning her attention back to me.

"James Buchanan Barnes, do you know how long I've been sitting here waiting for you?"

 **:/:\:**

[Emily's POV]

I was such a horrible friend.

I burst out laughing. I honestly couldn't help it. Out of all the things I imagined Rebecca saying to her long-lost older brother who looked young enough to be her son or grandson, that was not one of them. Bucky sent me a glare, but Rebecca caught it.

"Not so fast, Buck. Don't you go sending your wife that kind of look," Rebecca snapped, and the two of us instantly blushed. We weren't even dating, so 'marriage' was quite a step up. "Honestly, is that how you treat a lady?"

"No ma'am," Bucky replied shyly, and I smirked. Served him right.

"Now, introductions," Rebecca ordered, pointing towards all of us. "I need to know for you are all who you look like you are. Cannot tell you how many pretenders I've had wandering around this room, insisting that they were the real Captain America and his sidekick."

"My name is James Buchanan Barnes," Bucky began, looking at Rebecca with saddened eyes. "I was the eldest of four kids. When I left for the war, I went via boat. We were standing on the docks and you whispered to me, 'Doesn't matter where you've been, doesn't matter what you've seen. Doesn't matter who've you killed, doesn't matter who've you saved. I'm with you, 'til the end of the line.'" Bucky winced slightly and rubbed the back of his neck. "Then you promptly punched me in the face."

"Wait!" I interrupted, turning on my heel to face him. "How come I've never heard this story?"

"Sweetheart, it's not one he likes to bring up very often," Rebecca said, placating me. "What about you?" She pointed a knobby finger towards Steve.

"Becks, my name is Steven Grant Rogers. I was born July 4th, 1920. I met your brother when some bullies tried to steal my lunch money," Steve explained to her. "You were actually with him at the time. You kicked Jimmy Cooper in the shin."

Rebecca's grin was wide as her eyes glazed over, reliving the memory. "He got a bruise for a week. You told me later that I had a mean swing for a girl." She paused, then looked at me. "My dear, I don't believe we've ever met."

"We haven't," I reassured her. "My name's Emily Salgado. I actually met Bucky this year."

"Met and married in the same year?" Rebecca asked incredulously. She looked at Bucky with a sense of pride and amusement. "Way to go, Buck."

"No, no, no," I put in, shaking my head. "Bucky and I aren't married."

"We aren't even dating," Bucky added.

"Yet," Steve seemed to murmur under his breath, and Rebecca let out a loud laugh.

"I haven't had this much fun since Wyatt Fiendman down the hall lost to BINGO," she snorted happily. "Come, come! Sit! Tell me all that I've missed out on."

"I think it should be the other way around, Becks," Steve admitted as we all pulled chairs up. There were only two, so I sat on the arm of Bucky's chair. "We didn't realize you were even alive until Emily brought it up this morning."

Rebecca turned and sent me a grandmotherly stare of approval. "Thank you, dearie. I needed that."

"You are welcome," I told her genuinely. "Well, I'm sure the boys want to talk to you. Are there any refreshments you guys want me to pick up from the cafeteria?"

Both the boys shook their head and I squeezed Bucky's shoulder reassuringly before getting up and slipping out of the room. As I walked back towards the lobby, I paused when I heard a whimper of pain from a nearby door. I froze and looked around, trying to spot a nurse of something so I could signal them that a member of their facility was in pain, but not a single person was in the hallway besides me.

Curse my luck.

I walked over to the room and gently pushed open the door, wincing as it made a creaking noise. "Hello? Someone there?"

I was greeted by a whimper of pain. I pulled myself into the room fully and was astonished to find a little girl lying on the bed. She couldn't have been more than nine years old. She had long, dark brown hair and mesmerizing green eyes. Her thin hospital blanket was clutched in between her small, frail, and pale fingers. There was an IV drip bag dripping some sort of clear liquid into her bloodstream, but she was still crying from pain.

"Are you alright?" I asked her, hesitantly making her way to her side. She looked at me through tear-stained eyes and whimpered, "Help me."

I rushed to her bedside and immediately began brainstorming of things I could do. I could radio a nurse, but she'd probably be in even more pain than she was before.

"What do I do?" I asked her calmly, and the little girl pointed a shaky finger towards the IV bag. Sensing what needed to be done, I detached the IV bag from her arm and she let out a little sigh of relief. I smiled and gently brushed some of her hair out of her face. "There. Feeling better now?"

A painful, stomach-curdling shiver shot down my spine and I leapt off her bed, gasping as I did so. I hadn't gotten a shiver like that in months.

"Much better," the girl responded, except this time, it was much deeper, and had a more womanly tone to it. Then, the girl shifted, becoming taller and her hair's color swirled from brown to bright blond. Her clothes dissolved into her body, until she was wearing tight white pants and a crop top polyester shirt with sleeves that ran all the way down to her fingertips. Attached to that was a long, white cape.

I recognized her instantly.

"Emma…" I managed to choke out before I let out a scream of pain. My body lost all control and I collapsed onto the ground, smacking my head hard against the tile flooring. As I convulsed, I could see the room around me beginning to shift.

That's when I lost consciousness.

 **:/:\:**

[Steve's POV]

Bucky, Rebecca, and I instantly hit it off as soon as Emily left. We were chatting up a storm, and we filled her in on all the events that had taken place without her, including some old war stories we had never gotten to tell anyone. Rebecca told us all about her life, and her nine kids, two of which she named Steve and James after us. I could proudly admit that that statement did bring tears to my eyes. A half an hour later, and we were still talking, but I could tell Bucky was getting ancy. Emily had left for snacks a while back and hadn't returned yet.

"You two wait here," I told him as soon as I noticed he was ready to burst. "I'm going to go check up on Emily." Catching Bucky's eye, I added, "She probably is just gossiping with Annabelle at the front desk."

Rebecca nodded in understanding, and reluctantly, Bucky did too. I patted his shoulder and left the room, walking down the halls back towards the reception desk. Except, as soon as I got there and asked about Emily, Annabelle shrugged.

"I haven't seen her since she came in with you two," Annabelle admitted to me. "The cafeteria's only entrance is right by my desk. I would've seen her if she came down here."

Disturbed and troubled, I thanked her for her time and started going back the way I came. I ran my hand through my hair and paused when I heard something. It was very faint, and if it wasn't for my super soldier serum advanced hearing, I probably would have missed it.

There it was again. A slight pinging noise coming from my direct left. I took a slow step towards the door and leaned in closer, closing my eyes to focus on it. Since I was much closer, I could distinguish the noise completely.

It was three short taps, followed by three prolonged taps, and then three short taps again. My eyes widened in disbelief. SOS.

Someone was in trouble.

I shoved the door open and felt my blood run cold as I saw Emily's body lying on the floor. She was completely still, except for foot, which was barely tapping out the SOS. I fell to my knees beside her and immediately checked her pulse. She was still breathing and her heart was beating.

"Help!" I yelled out, looking towards the doorway. "Someone help!"

That did the trick. Within moments, three nurses, Annabelle included, were in the room and helping me get Emily onto the bed.

"What happened?" ordered one of the nurses, gently but urgently pushing me to the side so I wouldn't interfere with their work.

"I don't know," I answered honestly. "She went to go get snacks a half-hour ago and disappeared. I came looking for her and found her tapping out SOS with her foot. I think she had a seizure."

"I need an oxygen mask pronto," one of the nurses demanded, and Annabelle nodded rapidly before scurrying out of the room. The nurse who had moved me asked, "What is your relation to this girl?"

"Boss," I answered honestly. "We met a couple of months ago when she applied to my line of work. We knew she had seizures when exposed to certain things, but I didn't realize it was possible here!"

"Is there anyone else who might want to know this information?" the nurse who had ordered for an oxygen mask questioned, and I explained to them about Bucky and Rebecca. Annabelle returned with the oxygen cart, a dazed Bucky and startled Rebecca trailing behind her.

"I figured they would want to know," Annabelle told me when I sent her a shocked, but thankful look. Bucky took one look at Emily and nearly passed out.

"Not again," he moaned in defeat, racing towards Emily. He grabbed her hand with his and rubbed it soothingly with his thumb. He looked up at me. "Who was in this home?"

"I don't know," I told him from across the room. It was difficult with these nurses. We both knew all Emily needed right now was rest until she was able to be back in her feet, except none of the nurses seemed to realize that. And, on top of that, we couldn't go into any details without revealing that Emily was a mutant. "I didn't happen to find her until I heard SOS. She was able to maintain some control of her body and tap it out."

Bucky nodded in understanding and physically growled at one of the nurses when they ordered they we all leave the room. "I am not letting her be in here with you three alone."

"Please, sir…"

"No!" he yelled, holding onto her hand tightly.

"He stays," Rebecca ordered, her voice loud and proud. She reminded me of a drill sergeant I used to have back in the day. "Steve and I will leave and go back to my room, but under no circumstances is he supposed to leave." She sent a humorous look towards Bucky. "After all, she is his wife."

I shooed Rebecca out of the room before the two siblings could fight again and we headed back towards her room, both of us smiling but filled with heavy hearts.


	37. Chapter 37

**_Chapter 37_**

[Emily's POV]

The first thing I noticed when I came to was that I was cold and wet. My arms were being forced above my head, and every time I shifted, my shoulders would burn and ache in pain. My wings were forced out of concealment and were bound tightly against my chest. I moaned and blinked my eyes, forcing myself to take in my surroundings.

I was dressed in my black shirt and jeans, my boots, socks, and cardigan nowhere to be seen. There were typical prison bars in front of me, cutting me off from entering the no-doubt awaiting hallway, and I could see mold growing around the edges of the cell.

Not again.

"This is getting ridiculous," I growled inwardly, peering up towards my hands. As I had suspected, I was shackled at the wrist and the chains went directly into the wall. Upon further inspection, it was a clean insert, and no areas were rusty, so my idea of forcing myself out wouldn't work.

Before I had a full-blown panic attack, I began to check the motor functions of my body. Once I was satisfied that my toes and fingers could wiggle properly, that was when I began to properly freak out.

 _Where's Bucky? And Rebecca? And Steve? Do they seriously have a cell in the retirement center? Wait..._

Emma.

Emma Frost.

The last time I had heard about her, she was still on speaking terms with Magneto. And, it was a well-known fact that Magneto was friends with...

" _Welcome, Miss Salgado_ ," a robotic voice interrupted my inner monologue. I froze my jerking and felt fear course through my veins. It was exactly as Wanda described it. I looked up and tried my best not to whimper as a large, robotic humanoid stepped towards the bars. He was on the outside of the cell, of course, but it gave me very little reassurance. " _It is an honor to finally meet you_."

"Ultron," I whispered, my voice wobbly and weak. Ultron's red optics whirled for a moment before he decided to speak again.

" _I must say, when I heard about you and your abilities, I was amazed_ ," Ultron informed me. " _But, honestly, I was expecting someone more..._ " He snapped his fingers as he tried to think of the word. I knew where this was going.

"You were expecting someone who was more," I finished for him lamely, and he nodded his head in agreement.

" _When my accomplice told me that you had this essence to you that could not be obtained, I immediately pictured someone high and worthy_ ," Ultron explained, leaning against the bars. " _Well, that's not you. You're just a broken teenage girl with a curse_."

"A gift," I counteracted. "I'm a broken teenage girl with a gift." Ultron shrugged and walked to the other side of the bars, fiddling with a bit of rust on it as he continued on.

" _You do know why you're here, correct_?"

"Why would any super villain want me?" I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes. "I mean, I have the ability to gain any superpower in my direct range of sight, which probably makes me the most lethal mutant on the planet. A human Ragnarok, so to speak."

" _Good. I really didn't want to have to explain my whole plan to you_ ," Ultron chuckled, and I screwed my face up in disgust. " _Have you ever heard of a Convergenst_?"

The wheels in my head clicked into place and I found myself nodding before I could stop myself. "Wanda mentioned it once. Said that me and whatever it was would be the key to your reckoning, or some crazy hocus-pocus like that."

" _First off, it's not hocus-pocus_ ," Ultron warned me. " _You do know of the Infinity Stones_?" I nodded my head once. Clint mentioned it once on the way to Germany. " _There are six Infinity Stones that everyone knows of today: the Space Stone, which you know as the Tesseract, the Reality Stone, known as the Aether, the Power Stone, known as the Orb, the Mind Stone, that little gem on your friend Vision's forehead, the Time Stone, hidden within the Eye of Agamotto, and the Soul Stone, which has yet to be discovered and named._ "

"Cool, another history lesson," I joked, rolling my eyes. "You do know I failed history when I was a kid, right?"

" _On the contrary, Miss Salgado, you passed with flying colors_ ," Ultron shot back, and I felt my jaw drop in shock. " _What no one knows is that there is a seventh stone. A necklace. This stone is called the Convergenst. The Convergenst is said to enhance a mutant's power so much that they becoming the most all-powering being in the world._ "

"I think I got that much," I snorted.

" _What you don't realize, Miss Salgado, is that whoever touches the Convergenst is immediately enraptured by it. Whoever holds the Convergenst can send those affected by it away to do their bidding_ ," Ultron taunted. " _And...it only affects those with a heart_."

My eyes widened with fear and I murmured, "You're going to force me under its spell, aren't you?"

" _I do believe that is the plan, yes_ ," Ultron informed me, and my fingers clawed at my wrist shackles desperately. He shook his head sadly as he watched me struggle to free myself. " _Don't worry. We need to feed you first. Make sure you're worth the effort_."

A tall, bulky man stepped in front of the cage door and buried my head into my legs, squeezing my eyes shut.

"I will not be a pawn of yours, Ultron!" I growled, still struggling to free myself. "Do you hear me?"

" _Loud and clear, Salgado_ ," his voice whispered slyly by my ear. I squeaked in fear as he gripped my face, forcing me to look up and at the person in front of the cells. With his other hand, he held my eyes open as I watched the mutant manipulate the steel bars in front of me. Magnekinetic.

I screamed as the pain overtook me.

 **:/:\:**

[Bucky's POV]

Emily was still in a coma when we returned to the compound. She had yet to wake up and I had yet to leave her side. She was transferred from the infirmary to her bedroom, but she didn't wake up, not even when Tony almost dropped her.

I sat on the edge of her bed, looking down at her with fearful eyes. The last time she had been hit by a power-induced seizure, she woke up a few hours later. I looked at the alarm clock positioned by the side of her bed.

It had been nearly two days.

I ran a hand through my disheveled hair and Wanda walked over to me, placing a gentle hand on my shoulder. She and I had been basically attached by the hip when we returned. Neither of us wanted to leave Emily alone. She needed to have a happy face to look forward to when she woke up.

"Do you want me to grab us some food?" Wanda asked tentatively, her voice scratchy and raw. She had been crying since she saw Emily's form and only calmed down once she realized Emily wasn't dead, only in a coma.

I gave her a nod of thanks and Wanda sent me the smallest smile before she stepped out of the room. I twisted back to look at Emily and noticed something off.

Her breathing was becoming more irregular, and her eyes were darting back and forth underneath her eyelids. I bent over and grabbed her shoulders to steady her in case she decided to start jerking.

"Emily, wake up," I pleaded, my voice thick with emotion. "It's just a nightmare, doll. You just have to open your eyes and it'll all be over."

Suddenly, she sat straight up and screamed, causing me to yell in fright and fall off the bed. I landed on the ground with a giant thump and moaned. Emily's eyes were darting around frantically and when they landed on me, she whimpered, "W-Who are you?"

"It's Bucky," I told her, leaping to my feet. I held my hands up in the universal 'I'm-a-friend-don't-shoot' pose and tried to relax. "It's alright. We're back at the compound."

Emily's eyes seemed to gloss over, but she shook her head and they returned to their natural blue.

"T-Thanks," she stuttered, pulling her knees up against her chest. She tucked her head in between her legs and moaned. "That was a freaky nightmare."

"So, who was the mutant?" I asked, and her head shot up. A look of pure panic crossed her face before it was replaced with a look of peace.

"What mutant?" she asked innocently, and the hairs on the back of my neck started to rise.

"You know..." I began once more, glancing around the room. "Who was the mutant that you adapted your powers from? I mean, it had to be somebody, right?"

Emily let out a big breath of what looked like relief and sent me a dazzling smile. "Right, of course. Sorry. It's been a stressful two days. It was a pyrokinetic. This old lady tried to burn me and I just collapsed on the floor. Don't remember what happened next."

The hairs on the back of my neck shot up and my instinct took over. I lunged forward, using my metal arm to pin Emily against the headrest. She gasped as her hands tried to shove my arm off her throat, but it wouldn't budge.

"You've been in a coma," I hissed, my voice low. "So how do you know it's been two days?"

Emily's eyes widened in disbelief and my entire body tensed up.

"Whoever you are, show yourself," I growled, and Emily's smile fell into a smirk as she completely began to change. Her hair got brighter and longer, turning into a glossy platinum blond. Her clothes switch into a long, white dress that stopped right below her knees. And her gorgeous, beautiful blue eyes disappeared into crystal green ones.

"Hello James," the woman purred. "Let me introduce myself. My name's Emma Frost."

"Where is Emily?" I demanded, applying more pressure. The woman squeaked in pain and tried to desperately push my arm off. It failed once more. "Don't make me ask a second time."

"When you have a powerful weapon, what are the two options you can do with it?" Emma struggled to squeak. "One, you can bring it in, and take care of it; this'll help it retain its power. Or..."

Realization hit me like a wrecking ball and I staggered away from Emma, my mind reeling.

"Or you can take the weapon, bend it to your will, and make it stronger," I whispered, falling to my knees. The worst thing we could ever possibly image happened.

Emily was in the hands of Ultron.


	38. Chapter 38

**UPDATE: PLEASE READ THE EXTENDED A/N AT THE END OF THIS CHAPTER!**

* * *

 _ **Chapter 38**_

[Clint's POV]

"What do you mean she's missing?" I demanded as I shoved the door open in the conference room. All the Avengers had gotten a call from Bucky an hour ago that Emily was missing, presumably kidnapped by Ultron, and in her place was a mutant by the name of Emma Frost. Bucky looked up at me and I was hit at how red his eyes were. He had been crying, and it had been ugly. "How did we not figure this out earlier? Do you realize what Ultron could do with Emily in two days?"

"We are well aware, Clint," Steve growled, like, literally growled. If I wasn't pissed off at the world and Ultron, I would have been shocked. I didn't realize Cap could growl. "Take a seat so we can figure this out."

"While you were raging," Bruce said, cocking an eyebrow at me. "I researched more about this Emma Frost character. She used to be a part of this evil mutant's gang. She then switched sides and joined the X-Men, the British version of the Avengers basically."

"Wasn't Emily apart of the X-Men before she was the Avengers?" Wanda put in, and Bucky nodded in confirmation.

"Back when she was fourteen," Bucky explained. "Stayed there for two years before returning to the states."

"Ms. Frost has still had connections with Magneto, the leader of the Brotherhood of Mutants, the evil mutant gang. Magneto, in a past, has been known to associate himself with Ultron," Bruce continued, rubbing his eyes. "We had Jarvis show us the footage from the retirement center. Emma posed as a dying child in order to lure Emily into the room. Once there, she dropped her disguise, therefore causing Emily to go into a seizure due to her powers. Once she was down on the ground, Emma switched herself with Emily and had minions, which she disguised under her illusions, take Emily out. She was the one who Steve found."

He was interrupted when Steve slammed his fist into the table. The former World War II captain looked depressed and angered. "I should have realized it wasn't Emily. She's been completely unconscious before. She wouldn't have been able to tap out SOS."

Natasha, from where she was sitting, reached over and laid a gentle hand on Steve's forearm. That calmed him down enough to have Bruce continue in his speech.

"Frost won't give up Emily's location," Bruce finished, groaning slightly. "I'm not even sure if she knows where she is."

The team sat there in a frustrated silence until a loud ringing noise interrupted them. Tony looked up and gave a small, satisfied grin.

"Looks like the cavalry is here," he said triumphantly. I watched as he happily skipped out of the room and I sent everyone a confused look.

"Am I the only one who has no idea what is going on?" demanded Loki, glancing around. I jumped, a little startled. How long had he been sitting there? "Who is this cavalry the Man of Iron speaks of?"

"Us."

The entire group, myself included, turned around and was greeted by a large battalion of people. Tony stepped to the side, sweeping his arms in a large motion towards the group of people.

"Welcome the cavalry, folks, all the way from across the big puddle," Tony grinned. "Avengers, may I introduce you to...the X-Men."

Everyone stared at us warily, and it was only when the man in the wheelchair moved forward that everyone actually moved.

"Hello Avengers and Loki," the bald man said, nodding his head to each of us, including an astonished Loki. "My name is Charles Xavier, although I am also known as Professor X. These are my X-Men."

There were eight people in all, only one female. Most of them looked clean and sharp, but one lingered near the back, trying hard to discreetly smoke a cigarette in the building.

"Come now," Xavier said, motioning for his X-Men to move forward. The first person to step forward was a long, langy man with brunette hair that was styled slightly. He wore wire-frame glasses and had a nervous twitch about him.

"My name's Hank McCoy," he said, graciously shaking Steve's hand when he offered it out. "On the X-Men, I'm called Beast."

The next person up was a man with trimmed back blonde hair that looked ready to run wild. "The name's Alex. Havoc's my code-name."

Introductions continued on this way: there was Jean Gray (Firebird), Kurt Wagner (Nightcrawler; he was completely blue!), Calvin Rankin (Mimic), but the last two stuck out.

"My name's Warren Worthington," the final man introduced himself. He had an older look to him and he was dressed more sophisticated. "I'm called Angel in the field." Wanda's eyes widened in disbelief and fear and she leapt from her chair, pointing an accusing finger towards Warren.

"You are the man from which Emily became a Titan!" she growled, her eyes narrowed dangerously. "How dare you try and come…" She paused suddenly, her eyes seeming frozen in their sockets. Then, she gave a saddened smile and sat back down. I looked at her with worry and Xavier raised his hand in apologies.

"I apologize, my friends," he began. "I have merely communicated Mr. Worthington's condition to Ms. Maximoff. He does not mean any harm."

"You're a telepath?" Loki said with a sense of respect in his voice. Xavier nodded in confirmation and Loki seemed impressed by that.

The last man finally stepped forward, but that was only after grunting and rolling his eyes. He leaned heavily on one leg and adjusted his leather jacket before he looked at every one of us in the eye. "My name's Logan Howlett. I'm called Wolverine."

He looked every inch his code-name. However, Natasha didn't seem impressed. "Why's that?"

Logan smirked and held up his fist. In a flash, three long, silver claws emerged themselves from his knuckles. Everyone's jaw dropped and he gave a low chuckle. "That's why, sweetheart."

"Emily's claws…" Bucky murmured in awe. "That's how she got them." Logan actually gave a sad smile when he heard Emily's name.

"The kid still has her claws, huh?" he chuckled, leaning his hip against the table as his claws retracted. He was near the corner and right by Natasha, and I tensed up a little bit. But Logan seemed enraptured by Bucky's statement. "I would've thought they'd be gone by now." He laughed to himself and rolled his eyes. "Yeah right, as if Emily would let them be taken by him…"

"Logan," Jean Gray whispered tentatively, her eyes widening with shock. "S-She's lost her claws."

Logan flipped around in a flash and strode heavily over to where the redhead was standing. "What? What do you mean they're gone?"

"Titan stole them as payment for taking over Emily's body and killing her mother," Jean squeaked in fear, clutching onto the arm of Kurt Wagner. The Avengers team all glanced about each other warily and Loki rose to his feet, narrowing his eyes at Jean Gray.

"She is another telepath," Loki growled dangerously. "One who cannot control her powers. She read our minds."

Tony put his hands to his head, as if they would protect him from any mind-reading attempts, and Xavier turned in his chair so he was facing directly towards Loki.

"Yes, as that may be, she is young," Xavier argued. "She does not have control of her powers. She is still working on reeling them in."

"Is it necessary to have all of you?" I found myself asking. All the X-Men turned to me with confusion. I folded my arms across my chest and took a step forward so I was closer to Steve and Natasha. "I mean, Emily's been kidnapped before and we've handled it."

"Wanda and I handled it," Bucky muttered under his breath, and I shot him a dirty look.

"We've handled it before," I finished. "Who says we can't handle this now?"

"You're forgetting, bub, that Emily was one of us before she was one of you," Logan hissed, jabbing a finger at me. "If anyone is going to save her, it'll be us."

"If anyone is going to save her, it'll be the two of us combined," Steve interrupted. Logan open his mouth to retort something, but Steve cut him off. "Think about it for a moment. You obviously all care about her a lot, correct?" Each of the X-Men nodded immediately. "We care about her too. If one of us went against Ultron alone, we'd probably be able to defeat him. But imagine what would happen if the two of us combined our forces. We would be unstoppable. Ultron wouldn't even knew what hit him." He gestured towards the X-Men. "You guys are called the X-Men because you're mutants. We're called the Avengers because we have promised ourselves that we will avenge what catastrophe happens. Well, Emily's been kidnapped and Ultron's probably using her for some sick and twisted ideal. That's a catastrophe. We could use your mutant abilities to get into wherever he is." He paused and took a deep breath. "Well, X-Men? What's it going to be?"

The eight of them were quiet, their eyes flicking back and forth between each other. I just assumed they were all having a mind-conversation with each other, thanks to Xavier.

The bald, middle aged man turned away first and caught the captain's eye with a glimmer of hope. "It is time to form the X-Avengers."

Tony clapped his hands in enthusiasm, and everyone reluctantly followed. "It's settled then. Everyone, meet in the hanger. We'll divide into teams and head out in the QuinJets." He turned towards the X-Men. "Just cause we have more."

He headed out of the conference room and everyone trickled out until it was just Loki and I. Loki got up from his spot, stretched for a second like a cat waking up from a nap, and moved towards the door before I reached my arm out and snatched his bicep. The taller man didn't move, just looked down at me.

"Listen here, Loki," I whispered, my voice low but powerful. "You are known as the God of Lies up in Asgard, right? Well, see if I'm lying when I say this: Emily is as much my daughter as she is yours. If for a moment I think you will do any permanent harm to her, I will kill you." I gestured briefly towards the door. "You walk out that door now to go and save her, you become an Avenger. You follow our rules and you stick to them. Understood?"

Loki didn't say anything or move, so I let go of his arm.

"That is where you are wrong," he said quietly. He started to move and stepped out of the door, turning back to look at me. "I became an Avenger the moment Ultron tried to kidnap my daughter."

 **:/:\:**

[Bucky's POV]

"We're going to have three groups of six," explained Steve as we all congregated down in the hanger. "I've already discussed it with Professor Xavier. Hank McCoy, Bucky Barnes, and Clint Barton will lead the three teams. We've decided to let you choose who is on your team, but please note to get some of the other group into your squad. We need diversity here."

"I'll have Black Widow," Hank said, and the assassiness shot him a coy smile before getting up and standing by him.

"I'll take Gray," Clint said, gesturing to the other redhead. She gave him a weak smile and he returned it.

"Wanda," I immediately said, and the witch appeared right next to me. While the other two were deciding who to pick, I whispered quietly to her, "I'm glad no one picked you before I did."

"Me too," she whispered, sending me a small smile. "It's time for the forces of Winter Witch to strike again." I laughed and soon discovered that Hank had picked Tony (much to everyone's relief), and Clint had chosen Bruce. I picked Angel, who seemed a little reluctant to stand by Wanda, until she profusely apologized randomly and then, he seemed to relax more. The cycle continued to go until my team consisted of me, Wanda, Warren, Logan, Kurt, and Loki.

"Team Alpha will go in and find Emily. Once you do, get out and head back to the compound," Steve ordered, looking directly in my eye. "Bring her home."

"Team Omega, Hank's team," Xavier continued, nodding to the small, but steady group. "Your job is to infiltrate the facility and find any data you can that might lead us to Magneto or stopping Ultron, should he escape."

"And finally, Team Zeta," Steve said, nodding to his own group. "Will go in there and...well, destroy as much as we can."

Bruce let out a tiny, evil-looking grin and I was pretty such that Hulk managed to put that there. We all divided ourselves up and I got into the QuinJet, plopping myself down into the pilot's seat.

"Have you ever flown one of these things?" Wanda asked curiously and cautiously as she strapped herself in. I shrugged and sent her an amused look that combated her own fearful look.

"How hard can it be?" I smirked, and turned on the communications. "Steve, we got one slight kink in the plan."

" _And that is_?" came his reply over the radio.

"Where are we even going?"

* * *

 **A/N: Here are some more chapters, my lovelies :) Happy Valentine's Day!**

 **EllaoftheOpera: I gotchu. If it's the chapter that I think it is (Ch19, the talk between Emily and Tony?), Emily had nightmares of her mother doing more than just abusing her. She had nightmares that her mother would discover her wings and try to cut them off.**

 **WildestDreams72394: Hopefully these two chapters help explain Emma.**

 **UPDATE:**

 **So, I have figured out that polls are ridiculous and never work for me XD. I have decided on Solace's Wings sequel (the name will remain a mystery). Also, I haven't had a lot of inspiration (or time) to write chapter 39, so that's on hiatus. On a side note, however, I'm going to be editting the entire story! There are bits and pieces that need it, desperately, so keep your eyes out!**

 **Thank you everyone for being extremely patient :)**


	39. Chapter 39

_**Chapter 39**_

[Emily's POV]

I curled in on myself, shaking horribly as sobs racked my entire body. My worn out fingers scraped at the hard stone underneath and old scabs opened up, bleeding out over my already torn and dirtied clothes. My wings laid limply behind me. They had yet to move since my last 'treatment', as had I. I felt drained, with very little energy. The only thing I seemed to be able to do was cry.

There were no indications of time for me. The meals were brought in at irregular hours, sometimes as short as what felt like five minutes after each other. No sunlight was allowed in due to the giant stone wall; the only light source I had was a filthy light bulb that hung outside my prison cell. The prison bars casted a disfigured shadow over me and it resembled monsters.

I shivered in fear and clamped my hands over my ears, trying to silence out my own thoughts. I couldn't focus on that. I needed to keep my head attached to my shoulders. But, that was hard, as I was trying to figure out my new powers.

I had seen so many mutants use their powers that I couldn't count that high. My body constantly ached, mostly as a side effect from the seizures. Whenever the aches were about to go away, Ultron would show up with a new mutant for me to observe.

The worst part of it all? He showed me mutants whose powers could have helped me escape, but at the end of every session, just as I was coming back to the land of consciousness after my seizure episode, Ultron would inject me with some formula that would inhibit me from using my powers, all barring my wings. But because I was weak and fragile, they weren't much use either.

I bit my lower lip and tried to stop the next round of sobs. I had never felt this hopeless. Even through the four years of physical abuse I withstood from my mother, it had never felt like this.

 ** _My dear Emily..._**

A horrible shiver ran down my spine and I coughed, my aching back seizing up. Of course _he_ had to show up. I was at the lowest point in my life.

 _Welcome back, Titan_ _,_ I grumbled angrily to myself, gritting my teeth in pain. _Come to gloat?_

 _ **When have I ever gloated, Emily?**_ Titan chuckled in my ear and I slammed my fist into the ground angrily. More tears sprang into my eyes and I weakly wiped them away. _**Give me control, Darling. You know that you want to get rid of all this pain and hurt.**_

 _How are you even able to speak to me?_ I growled inwardly, my hands tensing up in anger. _You are one of my powers, Titan. Whatever this formula is, it should prevent you from doing anything._

 ** _You forget, my dear, that Ultron only injected you with the formula. He has yet to inject me. Even though we share the same body, we are completely different people._**

I was silent for a moment as I let the thought play out in my head, away from Titan's prying ears.

If I did give in to Titan's control, he would be able to get me out of wherever I was. However, I could lose some of my powers that I was connected to, like my telepathy...

On the other hand, Titan could take all the other powers I had adapted. My body burned at the thought of being able to be free from the pain I was enduring.

 _If I give in, you have to follow my conditions,_ I ordered. _First off, if for some reason my friends come for me, you are not to harm them. Secondly, you will take all the powers I have adapted because of Ultron away. Third..._

 _I want to see Ultron burn for everything he has done to me and my family._

 ** _I love it when you go malicious._**

 **:/:\:**

[Bucky's POV]

My hand gripped Wanda's fiercely as the X-Avengers all stood in a circle within the hanger, watching as Hank McCoy pulled out a small, circular helmet from one of his many, many bags.

When I had brought up the fact that none of us knew where Ultron was stashing Emily, Hank ordered all of us outside of our jets and into a large circle with the Professor sitting in the middle of it. All the X-Men seemed at ease with the plan, so I shook my tense muscles out and tried to think of something that calmed me.

Emily.

I casted my mind back to the first time we had met. She had ordered an almond-milk hot chocolate from NYCA and saw me sitting all alone at a table. Emily purposefully came over and sat across from me, even though there were plenty of seats where she wouldn't be bothered by anyone. She took time out of her life to do that. No one, out of the three years I had been going to that cafe, had ever done that.

"So, Thing Two, what exactly does this do?" Clint asked, gesturing towards the whole contraption. Since Bruce and Hank were two nerdy scientists who both went 'primal' (as Clint described), he had taken to calling the two of them Thing One (Bruce) and Thing Two (Hank). They both had shot him a death glare when he first started, but he seemed impervious to it. Wanda supposed he had built up an immunity with the help of Natasha. "And please, small words. I was a jock in high school, not a nerd."

"Back in England, we have an entire room built for this one machine," Hank began, beginning to place the helmet on top of the Professor's head. "We call it Cerebro. Basically, Charles is the world's most powerful, experienced telepath, except he can't connect with very many people mentally. However, with the help of the helmet, he can connect to every person's mind on the entire planet."

"With that puny thing?" Wanda asked curiously, pointing towards the helmet. Hank gave her a geekish smile and shook his head slightly.

"This is only a fraction of the actual one," Hank explained. "It can cover a 300 mile radius. So, we have to hope that Emily is still near New York."

"That is amazing," Wanda whispered, slightly in awe. Hank turned back to the Professor with a bit of a blush on his face, and I snorted. _Looks like somebody has a crush_. "So this thing can find Emily?"

"Her mental walls are still not superb, unfortunately," Xavier sighed unhappily. "This time, though, it will work in our favor. I should be able to connect with her a lot sooner."

The wheelchair-bound man took a deep breath before giving Hank a thumbs-up. Hank pressed a button on the side of the helmet and the Professor sucked in a sharp breath, clenching his fists together and screwing his eyes shut. Everyone waited in tense anticipation, and I saw Clint leave the room more than once to pace outside in the hall. After the second time he left and came back, Professor Xavier let out an unearthly scream and threw his eyes open. Everyone leapt back, and I instinctively shoved Wanda behind me. Hank and Bruce immediately raced to Xavier's side, but the man shooed them off with a wave of his hand.

Xavier took a shaky breath and his white-knuckled hands gripped the sides of his wheelchair with such ferocity. "We need to hurry. Now." He licked his lips and his eyes became filled with tears. "Never, in my entire life, have I ever seen someone fill with such much pain. She has already switched into her Titan mode; he was the one I spoke to. Emily has made a deal with him." He let out a strangled sob and ran his hand over his eyes. "She just wanted the pain to go away."

Wanda let out a terrified squeak behind me and even Natasha had to look away.

"Charles, I need you to push past all the pain you are feeling from Emily," Bruce gently, but firmly, ordered Xavier, gripping onto his hand tightly. Or maybe it was the other way around. Either way, both men looked like they needed it. "Search through your memories: where is Emily?"

"Here," Xavier gulped, looking towards the entire group with tears running down both of his cheeks. "In New York City. She's been here the entire time. Ultron has her at the Avengers Tower."

 **:/:\:**

[Clint's POV]

I let out a yell and slammed my fist into the side of one of the QuinJets. I focused on the burning, throbbing pain I felt as I watched the blood from my cut knuckles cascade down my hand. I blocked out everyone's yelling as they tried to make me stop.

She had been here the entire time. Emily, the girl who was basically my _daughter,_ had been kidnapped by Ultron and taken to the last place we expected. Gone for two days, and we still didn't know what was happening to her. And to make matters worse, the Titan had taken over. No...Emily had _given_ him control.

"Take deep breaths, Barton," a baritone voice ordered me, and I wanted to do nothing more than punch that voice to oblivion and back, but I restrained myself. "Focus on the task at hand. Emily needs all of us right now. You cannot help her if you are too injured to do so."

I took a shaky, deep breath and put on my best poker face. If Ultron wanted to dance, I was ready. First, he took Pietro away. I was not going to let him take Emily away too.

I turned around and gave T'Challa the briefest of nods as a thank you before I steeled my gaze at Xavier and the X-Men. "We're going to make one thing clear right now: _I_ will be the one to put an arrow through Ultron's chest. _I_ will be the one who makes sure he never messes with my family again."

Everyone nodded solemnly, but I swore I heard Bucky whisper under his breath, "Get in line, pal." I chose to ignore it and headed straight towards my QuinJet, alongside my crewmates: Jean, Steve, Alex, Bruce, and T'Challa. Once inside, I headed straight for my corner and brought out my rebound bow, triple-checking it to make sure it was all in order before we left for the mission. Plus, it gave me some time to creatively think of ways to kill Ultron.

"You two are close, huh?" a younger voice interrupted my malicious thoughts and I jumped around, facing Alex Summers. I hadn't talked to the kid much and he had kept his mouth shut for most of the discussion. His shaggy blond hair constantly fell into his eyes and he brushed it aside with the slightest hint of annoyance. He continued on, "You and Emily?"

I huffed and directed my attention to my quiver, stocking it up with a variety of arrows. "When Emily first joined the Avengers, I was assigned to be her mentor." _What a good job I was doing_ , I thought darkly to myself. "Over the few months we've spent together, I guess I've grown attached. Like a father."

"Emily hasn't had one of those for quite a while," Alex informed me, taking a seat a few ones down from where I was standing. "However, she does trust men more than women because of what her mother did to her."

"We figured that one out, unfortunately," I murmured softly, shoving a couple of boomerang arrows into the bunch. The night of the 'Midnight Madness' party flashed into my head and I shook my head, trying to rid myself of that memory and how helpless Emily had looked. To distract myself, I asked Alex how he had met Emily.

"It's an interesting story, actually," Alex chuckled, running his fingers through his thick hair. "Emily was running away from the X-Mansion when we first met." I raised an eyebrow at the new information. Emily had never told me of that. I would have to ask her about that when we got her back. "She was fifteen and so freaking stressed out from all the pressure. Imagine being a fifteen year old on a team like the Avengers. She was constantly in fights with our enemies, while at the same time, she never got to do anything. One of our former leaders, Storm, actually confided in me that Emily was only brought along for some missions for the sole purpose of, if she was needed, to bust out some mutant moves the enemy hadn't seen before."

I clenched onto one of my arrows so hard I bent the shaft. Cursing softly, I threw the arrow to the ground and went to stack another one in its place.

"I was walking alongside the lake at midnight," Alex further stated, fiddling with his thumbs. "A bit of an insomniac. I remember being tired, and deciding it was probably time for me to head back to bed. Just as I was about to turn to leave, Emily ran into me. Literally. Hit me so hard I nearly fell back into the lake if she hadn't caught me. Before then, we hadn't really talked. We were never put on the same mission since my powers were too versatile and deadly to be adapted by her; if she had adapted them, we could all be doomed. After I had surprisingly convinced her to stay, we met up with each other every night, just to discuss how our days went and if there was something we needed to get off our chest."

I paused and I looked at him with a grateful expression. "Emily is lucky to have two families that care for her like this."

"Yes, she is."

* * *

 **A/N: I'M SO FREAKING SORRY!**

 **I just realized that I haven't posted in like, three months, and I apologize so much for that! School has been tough and I've been in between major projects, so there hasn't been much time for stuff.**

 **Now that this chapter is out, Imma fangirl real quick:**

 **Reviews: 90**

 **Favs: 96**

 **Follows: 118**

 **Views: 26,333**

 **You guys seriously don't know how much it means to me that people are taking time out of their probably very busy schedules in order to read this story. It literally means the world to me :) (and the fact that people are probably doing a victory dance or something just seeing that this chapter is posted XD).**

 **UPDATE: Thanks to Katie MacAlpine (I hope I spelled your name right!) I changed a little detail because it definitely makes more sense the way she put it. Hope y'all enjoy!**

 **So, yeah. There will be a sequel, don't know when tho (I was considering making this the first chapter of the sequel, but I'm too attached to Solace's Wings to make the second book just yet).**

 **I've thought long and hard about the second title name, so I want to YOU to vote for it.**

 **It's down to these two:**

 **1\. Solace's Fury**

 **2\. Solace's Reckoning**

 **Please review (if you do) and put a vote in! Thanks.**

 **And remember, please review with any comments, questions, concerns, or conspiracy theories. I also take ideas XD.**

 **Love y'all and thanks for reading the story!**


	40. Chapter 40

_**Chapter 40**_

[Bucky's POV]

" _Bucky! I need backup over here, like, yesterday_!" I heard Wanda screech through our comm-systems. It startled me slightly, causing me to miscalculate where Ultron's robot was going to punch. White hot pain raced through my head and I growled in anger. I grabbed the robot's fist with my human hand, pulled back with my Vibranium one, and let it do the talking. The robot's skull caved in on itself and I dropped its lifeless body onto the floor. I tapped on my comm-system, bringing the system to life.

"I'm coming as fast as I can, Wanda, but my floor's pretty active at the moment," I responded to her, my voice rougher than usual. I stepped over the piece of scrap-iron as another grouping of bots raced around the corridor and into my line of sight. "Geez, where are these robots coming from?"

" _Do you always talk this much_?" growled a rougher, tougher voice through the comm-systems. I gritted my teeth and resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Instead, I headed straight for the mass of robots coming directly towards me. Logan Howlett, aka the Wolverine, hadn't spoken much on the flight here or as we began descending from the top Avengers floor towards the bottom, where we suspected Ultron was holding Emily. The only sentences he gave out were about how pitiful the robots were. I did have an ounce of sympathy for the man, however rude he may be. He, like Clint, had been Emily's father figure while Loki had been up in Asgard. But, unlike Clint, he had been doing it for two whole years, and I could tell he wasn't about to let Ultron kill his little girl.

Burning pain cut through my side and I was snapped back into reality. I grunted at the pain and turned to look at the Ultron robot. Its red optics were whirling in confusion, looking down at my side were blood was beginning to trickle out through the combat gear.

"Wrong choice."

Less than a minute later, the rest of the machines were disposed of, and I started heading towards the stairwell. As I kicked open the door, which had been locked, Logan was there, leaning nonchalantly onto one of the destroyed railings.

"What took you so long, bub?" the man asked, raising an eyebrow. I ignored him and instead tapped on my comm-system again.

"Wanda, Logan and I are done with clean-up on our levels. Haven't come in contact with anyone else in our group or in the other groups. What level are you on?" I asked, leaning over the railing in order to good look at the other levels. If the stairwell alone was any indication of how bad the rest of the Tower was, Tony was going to be pissed. Most of the upper levels were inaccessible to people who couldn't fly since the metal stairwell had been yanked from the wall and was now in a disfigured mess as it descended down. Ultron robots, which had tried to pursue members of the X-Avengers down, were now little bits of metal decorating the already-ruined area.

" _I'll let you know once I've stopped falling_!" Wanda suddenly yelled back, and I jumped back towards the wall as some large object fell through the open area around the stairwell. A bright light bathed the entire area in a hazy crimson glow. There was a loud bang, followed by moaning from a woman. I leaned back over the edge and looked down a couple of levels.

Wanda was resting up against one of the walls. A long scratch on her forehead was now bleeding profusely, covering a complete half of her face. Her jeans were shredded and they seemed damp and wet. I had a sinking feeling it was also from blood. Her eyes were beginning to fog up, and her entire body was shaking. Without any further discussions, Logan and I bounded down the staircase to where she was resting.

Logan beat me to her, sliding to a stop by her feet. He ripped off the hem of his shirt, along with a decent chunk of it, and wadded it up. He used it as a clothe and gently patted Wanda's forehead, wiping as much blood out of her eye as he could. "Kid, I'm gonna be honest with you...this is pretty serious."

"I am fine," Wanda said with finality. She planted her hands down at her sides and tried her hardest to push herself up, but compared to mine and Logan's strength, she was too feeble and weak. "Let me go. We need to find Ultron and Emily."

"He will find Ultron and Emily," Logan interrupted her, sweeping the younger woman up in a bridle-carry position. Wanda's energy finally seemed to fade out and she rested her head limply against Logan's shoulder. "We will be heading back to the QuinJet." As Logan shouldered his way past me, he added quietly, "Contact the troublemaker. His magic might be able to heal her faster."

I nodded solemnly and accessed the comms. "Loki, Wanda is injured. Requesting you head back to the QuinJet in order to help her."

There was a moment of static and I felt my heart plummet to my stomach. I had known there was a chance that Loki was going to turn on us, in the way of ignoring our commands and doing whatever it took in order to save his daughter, but I had expected it to be much later in our little endeavor.

Suddenly, Loki's voice filled my ears. " _If you do not return with her alive, you will face more pain than any Midgardian has ever endured_."

"Been there, done that. Wasn't a fan," I grumbled as I ripped my comm out. I didn't need to know the stakes. On top of my own guilt that would drive me over the edge, I would face the rage of a master archer spy assassin, a mutant who lived up to his name, and the God of Mischief.

 **:/:\:**

[Wanda's POV]

I struggled, or at least tried to, the entire way back to the QuinJet. My blood had clotted and dried, essentially glueing my eye shut. The blood cracked and grinded everytime I tried to open my eye, sending flakes into my eye and irritating it even more. Logan tightened his grip on me anew as we successfully wove our way through the mangled tower to the roof. Loki was at the base of Team Alpha's jet, his hands twitching at his sides.

Logan shouldered his way up into the jet and laid me gently across the seats. He hopped backwards and his old spot was taken by Loki. In the few unfortunate times I've met Loki, it was usually just that. Unfortunate meetings. But, for once, I was extremely grateful to see his face. His powers were similar to mine, which meant that he could heal me up quickly, getting me back in the fight sooner.

Loki's fingers began to slide across my blood-soaked face, and I couldn't resist asking, "Am I going to make it, Doc?"

An exasperated, but amused expression came over his face as he replied, "Oh no, I'm afraid we'll have to amputate your face. It's not all that important, right?"

From somewhere within the QuinJet, Logan erupted into a loud groan. "Emily's just turning you all into miniature versions of herself."

Both Loki and I grinned at the comment, but mine quickly turned into a grimace as my adrenaline began to crash. All my limbs felt sore and weak, and my head was pounding. What I could see out of my one eye was blurry, which didn't bode well. I could feel my hands twitching at my side, something they hadn't done since I allowed Hydra to test on my body back in Sokovia.

"But seriously, am I ok?" I eventually asked, once I found the strength in myself. Loki licked his lips slowly in hesitation, and I could discern the wariness in the pits of his eyes. He opened his mouth to say something, but paused. "Just spit it out."

"Your magical core is unlike any other I've encountered," whispered Loki, his fingers tapping my temple. I refrained from mentioning how it felt like he was stabbing me repeatedly in the head and more so focused on what he was saying. "You were gifted your powers by my scepter, correct?" I nodded, or as much as I could nod. "The core of the scepter is an Infinity Stone, created by the Great Celestials. Because it was created in a way that I have never witnessed before, I don't believe I can successfully heal you. For as you can see, dear child, while your worn out physical body I can repair, your exhausted magic I cannot fulfill. Only you can do that."

I looked towards Logan, but he was too deep in the ship for me to see. Instead, I turned back towards Loki. "How do I do that? Go about repairing my magical core or whatever."

"It is much like the Odinsleep in Asgard. If I can remember mortal terminology correctly, you have to force yourself into a coma in order for your magic to start its rejuvenation. But it may take several hours, or even days, to replace the magic you have spent today," Loki informed me, shaking his head as he came to a close.

I shook my head frantically, moving my arms to try and push myself up. Loki caught on quickly and placed his hands on my shoulders. He tried to gently guide me back down, and I couldn't fight him. I was too tired. "I-I can't do that...I have to go save Emily...she c-could be all alone fighting Ultron. She, I mean I can't…"

At this moment, Logan appeared by my head. His rough, calloused hand was gently brushing my hair off my forehead and sticky blood. "Yes, you can and you will. Kid, Emily wouldn't want you risking your life in order to save her. We still have guys in there who are more than capable of finding and protecting her. You don't need to play the hero all the time. Just…sleep."

I noticed that partially through his speech I had started to drift off. By the time he was done, I was out like a light.

 **:/:\:**

[Bucky's POV]

I flexed my metal hand and subtly placed it past the wall I was hiding behind. Despite everyone's thinking, I knew it hadn't been stupid when I got my Vibranium arm polished before our mission. It wasn't perfect, but I got a rough estimate of the guards at the end of the corridor by the door. Just two Ultron bots, with simple machine guns attached to their wrists.

No pressure or anything.

Kurt and Warren were still playing clean-up with the Ultron bots, but it had left me with enough time to head to the lower levels. Windows were now a thing of the past, and I had left them three floors ago.

At least, I think it was three floors ago.

Anyways, I knew I was on the right track, because the sound of metal and destruction were getting louder and louder. I knew it wasn't one of us, because I had passed them all on a higher level. It had to be one person.

Emily.

I slipped out my combat knife from my boot and steeled my nerves. I knew a gun would've been efficient, but I wanted to make sure Ultron didn't hear me coming. And that Emily wouldn't accidentally tackle me just because I had a gun.

I gritted my teeth and shifted my feet. It was time. I slipped out from behind the wall, into the open hallway, and I was immediately noticed by the bots. They raised their guns in preparation, and that's when I started to run. Everything was moving in a quick haze. A bullet whizzed past my ear, and I could see one heading straight for my head. I raised my fake hand and allowed the bullet to bounce off with a ding. More bullets, and I repeated the same movements. I used my Vibranium hand to be my bulletproof shield. Once I was close enough, I punched one bot with my metal hand. It went straight through its head. I flipped my knife into that hand and stabbed out in quick succession puncture wounds in the robot's chest. It fell unceremoniously to the ground mere seconds later.

I flexed my human hand in anticipation as I looked at the door in front of me. It was a simple, ugly beige colored door with a metal handle. It seemed that Tony hadn't bothered to continue his Tower's renovations all the way down to the basement. _He probably figured no one would ever come down here_ , I grumbled angrily to myself as I reached for the handle. _When I get done here, I'm going to have a long talk with him on what to do with this place._

With dedication, I twisted the knob and shoved the door open. I was immediately taken aback by the large scale of the room. It was definitely underground, from the fact that the walls were lined with dirt. Tony had apparently not bothered with wall lining. The ground underneath my feet was asphalt, and judging from the size of it, it looked as if it was meant for a tarmac for planes.

To put it simply, it looked like Tony Stark had built an underground airfield. Or, if not Tony, Ultron had.

I was shaken back to reality by the sound of a primal growl coming from the other end of the runway, by the large indoor building that took up half of the tarmac on the far side. I jogged away from the door; once I was in the middle of the runway, I had a clear shot of what was happening. And it was one of the most terrifying and awe-invoking things I have ever witnessed.

It was Emily, in all her Titan-powered glory. Her white hair was stainless, as usual, but it was ratted and looked like she had been to the Underworld and back. Her wings were majestically flared out behind her, looking even more dark red from the lighting. She moved like a ripple through the waves of Ultron bots; no opponent could stop her. Emily would lash out with one hand and a bot would crumple together as if it were paper. She'd stomp her foot into the ground and a large chunk of the asphalt would rise and go flying through the legions. Emily looked unstoppable.

I recognized right away that she had adapted new powers, and by the looks of things, a whole slew's worth of new ones. But it seemed to be helping her at the moment more than hindering her. I was so wrapped up in watching Emily's parade of destruction that I didn't even realize I was running down the tarmac towards her and the sea of metal. Emily turned and we caught each other's eyes. There was a flicker of recognition in them, and then she smirked. That wasn't the Titan's doing.

That was one hundred percent Emily.

She motioned violently with her hands towards me, and the piece of asphalt I had just stepped on rose up sharply. I used the momentum to catapult myself off and slam my fist into the awaiting Ultron robots. I let myself go as I hammered away at the bots beside Emily. This was the one time in my life when I didn't care how I reacted. Emily was finally by me, finally close. Now it was my job to make sure it stayed that way. I let out another unearthly yell as I continued.

It felt like hours; it felt like minutes. In a flash of time, I was panting and standing at the center of a scrap metal ocean. It filled every inch of space I could see, and in some places it was piled up so high it could be considered a hill. I gritted my teeth and clenched my fists as I turned around. If that vision of Emily had just been a mirage…

But no, she was there. Right there, not even five feet away from me. Emily was panting too, her shoulders heaving from the exertion. It was in that short moment that I took inventory of her appearance. While her hair and wings were perfection, the rest of her body looked as if it had taken a beating. She had a cut on her forehead, similar to the one she had had when she had been hit with the semi all those months ago. Oil from the bots was splattered all over herself. She had no shoes on, and I could see the blisters that were forming and that had popped from all her running. Her jeans were torn and her shirt was half-gone, making it look like a crop top. But other than that, she seemed...ok.

Emily turned to me, but the white hair and the crimson wings didn't dissipate. She was still in the Titan-mode. She looked at me with some disdain, simply raising an eyebrow at my presence. "James." It was freaky to hear how the Titan's voice mixed with Emily's voice.

"Titan," I responded just as dryly. "Funny seeing you here."

"Well, I do like to make dramatic entrances," Emily/Titan mused, shrugging lightly. "Emily and I made a deal so I would help her get out of that robot's clutches."

"And what were the conditions of that deal?" I questioned, taking a step towards Emily. "Emily always makes sure that you won't double-cross her."

"Well, James, I'm going to ignore the fact that you imply that you somehow know Emily better than I do to tell you her conditions," Emily/Titan huffed, rolling her (their?) eyes. "Number one: I am not to hurt you or any of her friends. And yes, I can recognize them because I can access Emily's memories. What kind of question is that?"

I looked at Emily with slight discomfort. Apparently she had added advanced mind-reading to her repertoire of skills. I had barely thought of that question when the Titan had answered it. "Secondly, I am to take away all of the powers that Ultron had forced her to adapt. You know how I do my fees?" I nodded sharply, narrowing my eyes at the Titan. I wasn't all too pleased with his ideas of 'fees'. "Let's just say after today I will have been pre-paid for many, many jobs to come. And lastly, my personal favorite," this was the moment when Emily's eyes went dark and her whole body exuded the aura of destruction, "I get to make Ultron burn for what he has done to her."

" _With that attitude and my reputation, it sounds like there will evidently be a line,_ " hummed a mechanical voice. Emily and I flinched and she whipped around, hopping back so she was in line with me. At the entrance of the large building, still in all of his shining glory, was a larger robot. It looked like all the other Ultron bots, but better in every way. _I'm going to presume that this one is actually him. Ultron._

Ultron glanced between the two of us, frowning slightly. " _Well, this was an unfortunate turn of events. I had not realized that the drug dosage I gave you, Emily, was so low that you could still activate your Titan powers._ " Emily tensed up and I subconsciously reached out with my human hand to grab hers. She gripped it tightly as we continued to watch Ultron meander his way towards us. " _I'll just make a mark of this for the next time_."

"There will be no next time, Ultron," I snapped, taking two steps forward and positioning myself in front of Emily. I could hear her huff behind me in annoyance and I squeezed her hand tighter. _Shut up, Titan. I am being chivalrous. So what?_ That made Emily go still and I couldn't help but grin triumphantly. "I don't know how Vision and Thor missed you last time, but this time, there will be no second chance for you."

Ultron chuckled, and I tensed and felt my blood run cold. _An evil, psychopathic maniac robot is chuckling. Should I be scared or terrified?_ Ultron brought up his clenched fist and held it out in front of him. I raised an eyebrow at his gesture. " _That is where you are wrong, James Buchannan Barnes. I do not need a second chance this time_." And then he opened his fist.

In it was a glowing stone. It was larger than any other gemstone I had ever seen, and it was a mystical looking green. It shone with a brilliance of a star. "What is that?"

Ultron chuckled at me again. " _This, James, is called the Convergenst Stone. It is a power that is even stronger than an Infinity Stone. It can enhance a mutant's power so much that they become the most powerful being known to man. Whoever holds the Convergenst Stone can control those who are affected by it_." Ultron grinned maliciously at the two of us and I knew that both of us backed up. " _Did I forget to mention that it only works on those who have a heart? Not Emily or a Titan can stop this._ "

I followed his gaze to behind me, towards Emily. She, or Titan, or both of them, looked terrified. Emily looked at me and in her voice, and in her voice alone, she whispered, "Run."

I stumbled backwards and watched in horror as Emily screamed, her body jerking and convulsing as the wisps of magic from the Convergenst Stone raced from Ultron's hand and completely surrounded her. She collapsed to the ground and it continued. My gut wrenched. Ultron bothered to glance at me and through Emily's screams, shouted, " _Did you know that this stone actually was used for good in a different timeline of ours? The Convergenst Stone can use the other Infinity Stones powers, but only once. I activated the reality portion when I first found it. A team of Avengers and others came together to use this stone to undo a great wrong that had been done to them. You and Ms. Maximoff were a part of that group. It seems that in that timeline, you never met Ms. Salgado_." He looked at Emily, whose screams were now beginning to die down to sobs. " _Such a shame_."

The screaming and sobbing stopped suddenly and violently. My gaze was rushed back to Emily. She was on her hands and knees, shaking. She turned her face to me, a malicious look in her eyes. Her bright green eyes. It was too late. The Convergenst Stone has her.

Emily rose shakily to her feet and angled her body so she would approach me. By the angle of her path, Emily moved so she was in between Ultron and myself before she began to walk straight towards me. Emily took two big steps towards me before the green in her eyes returned to blue. My brow scrunched up in confusion. Was this another part of the Convergenst Stone's powers? That was also the moment when I noticed her wings had gone from their stunning red color back to their normal golden-brown, and her hair was back to being blond-brown, instead of pure white.

"You see, Ultron, that's where you went wrong," Emily began to speak, sniffing slightly. Her throat sounded tight, but there was no trace of the Titan speaking. "The Titan and I...we may be inhabiting the same body…" She turned around and stared a confused Ultron on. "But we're two completely different people. Therefore, your little party trick didn't affect me."

Emily let out a yell and vaulted herself forward. Her wings flapped with such ferocity that I was pushed back a couple of feet from the wind pressure. She was on top of Ultron in a second flat. Emily was standing above him, her fingers spasming as she manipulated her powers. The first thing that happened was the Convergenst Stone was knocked away from Ultron's grasp. Keeping my eyes on the scene happening before me, I picked my way through the scrap metal towards where I had last seen the stone. Ultron's body continued to crumple up, and Emily let out a yell of anger, letting herself loose on Ultron.

I finally found the glowing stone underneath a bot's head and reached under it, gripping onto the stone with my metal hand. I didn't feel any different, so I grinned. _Maybe Vibranium can't be bothered by it. Huh...gotta make a note of that_. I turned to Emily and yelled, "Emily!"

She turned to look at me and I tossed it to her. She grinned, seeing what I had planned. Emily caught the stone nimbly and I could see the green wisps already starting to wrap around her lower arm. But she brought the stone up high above her head and slammed it against Ultron's chest. To Ultron, she growled, "From what I've heard, you can't hold your weight in Infinity Stone. Wonder how you'll do against a Convergenst Stone." She pressed it harder against the metal plating and the wisps of magic reversed. It moved away from Emily and began to envelope Ultron's body. The robot's optics widened in disbelief and Emily held the stone tightly as Ultron's body began to convulse. An unearthly green glow began to seep from Ultron's cracks, and I widened my eyes.

"Emily!" I yelled, blitzing her and Ultron. She glanced at me, and her eyes grew as she realized what the green glow meant. She jumped to her feet, leaving the Convergenst Stone where it was pressed up against Ultron's melting chest. I threw myself at Emily. My arms caught her waist and the two of us went tumbling away from Ultron and into the scrap metal. Once we had stopped rolling, I threw myself on top of her as a loud and shocking roar filled the room. Pure heat rolled off my back and I yelled as the heat got oven-intense. It all only lasted for two seconds.

I stayed in my hovering position for a few, long tense seconds before I allowed myself to get up and look back at where Ultron was. Where Ultron had been was now a puddle of molten steel; the Convergenst Stone sat in the middle, still glowing a bright green. But the newest addition was the tall teenager who was standing at the edge of the metal. He was young, not even seventeen. He wore black everything, combat boots, jeans, t-shirt, and even a floor-length coat. Around his neck he wore an old-fashioned watch, but this one was three times the normal size of a watch. Little medallions were hung all around the watch, each with a different symbol. I could swear that one of them held the star of Russia, the same one that was on my arm.

"Who the…" I began, trying to formulate my words correctly, glancing up and down at the boy. He seemed familiar, but I couldn't place my mind on it.

"Wow, he warned me it would be weird coming to this place, but I never suspected it would be this weird," the boy commented, kneeling down to grab the Convergenst Stone. The green wisps wrapped around his arms and he let out a little sigh of relief.

"Hey!" I shouted, leaping to my feet. I pointed my hand at the boy and the stone. "Don't touch that!"

"Trust me, Bucky Barnes, when I say that this stone is going back to the place where it belongs," the boy promised. He clicked the watch open and inside was seven holes; three of them were already filled with glowing gems. The boy inserted the Convergenst Stone into the biggest hole, and it clicked together. As if it was meant to be put in that spot all along. "I apologize for any inconvenience this stone may have caused you, but I think it would be good if you just forget all about this." The boy winced and gestured to behind me. "You might want to focus on her. She doesn't look good."

Instantly, my attention was back on Emily. She looked fine, despite the wear and tear of jumping onto scrap metal. I turned my attention back to the boy, but he was gone, along with the Convergenst Stone. _Ok...that's a little weird. Maybe I just imagined everything…?_

"B-Bucky…?" I heard Emily whimper. I turned back to her and knelt down, gently brushing her hair out of the way of her face. She winced at some sort of pain, but her eyes shone brightly as she looked up at me. Emily gestured with her hand behind me, but I wasn't going to look away again. "I can't believe that worked."

"All those movies you talked about when we first met have actually paid off," I chuckled, shaking my head. "But next time, can we not try and defeat a robot like Ultron or Megaton."

"Megatron," Emily immediately corrected, and I laughed. She was back. "H-How did you find me?"

"We got some visitors from over the big pond," I began, and her eyes widened with disbelief and awe. "They've been helping us a lot. They're not all that bad. It's going to take some time to get used to Logan, though."

"Logan's here too?" Emily shouted, her eyes wide. She even sat up a little, and I was suddenly aware of how close we were. Emily noticed it too, because she looked nervously between my eyes and my lips. She licked her lips hesitantly and I was overwhelmed by the urge to kiss her. _Now's as good of a time as any_.

I leaned forward, resting our foreheads together. I slipped my metal hand behind her neck as I approached her. We had less than an inch separating us when Emily murmured, "Bucky?"

"Yeah?" I replied, surprised at how low and soft my voice sounded.

"I don't feel so good." And then Emily's eyes rolled back into her head and she went limp in my arms.

* * *

 **A/N: Oh. My. Gosh. Guys, this is it. This is the ending to Solace's Wings. I just...Wow. Y'all, I never thought in a million years I would finish a story of mine. Keep in mind it needs a lot of editing (a whole _ton_ of editing), but we made it. Let's celebrate that, yeah?**

 **YEAAAAAAAAH!**

 **Ok, back to the dealio. Thank you all who have come on this journey with me. You all are amazing and I love every single one of you who has viewed this story, favorited, followed, or reviewed. You guys help me make my dream come true. And thanks to everyone who stayed a fan of this story even though it's been over a year since the last posting.**

 **I first off want to dedicate this final chapter to everyone, but especially FanGirlForever19. You have been with me since the beginning of the storyline, and I am so immensely blessed that you have liked this story this much. I hope this ending gives you all what you wanted.**

 **Ok, the next title will be Solace's Fury! Solace's Reckoning will be the final book in the trio (don't worry, there's gonna be a season two under a different name sequence).**

 **Also, did anyone recognize the Easter Eggs I put in this chapter? We have multiple ones linking up with my other Avengers story ( _Watchhunters: The Convergenst_ ) and one even to Transformers XD. I thought it would be a funny thing to add in. Also, I couldn't help myself with the last line XD**

 **I hope you all have enjoyed Solace's Wings as I have, and I will try my hardest to get Solace's Fury started soon. Love you all and keep fighting the good fight!**

 **BecomingFearless1F**


	41. Solace's Fury is Out!

**A/N: Not another chapter, y'all! Just wanted to let all of you know that the first chapter for "Solace's Fury" is posted and waiting for you all to go view it. So have it!**

 **BecomingFearless1F**


End file.
